Now They Will Know
by thenotsoawesomeone
Summary: Will things change now that everybody else will finally learn the truth about Miss Hermione Gra - should I still call her Granger?
1. i

**Disclaimer**: This goes for this chappy to the last, okie dokie? I do not own any of the awesome characters (_that you recognize_) in this story, and if I did, I would be swimming in my pool of money in my backyard after uploading my photography using my Canon EOS 450D in my nice laptop.

By the way, I wouldn't be surprised if you recognized some of the parts of this story. ;) I've written something like this before, sort of with the same plot.

**Chapter One**

_Dear __Draco__Lucius Malfoy__, _

_I hate you. You should know why. _

_All my love, you know who _

_---_

_Dear you know who, _

_I'm sorry, okay?! Hahaha. Mother saw your letter and she was all panicky, "Draco, what did you do this time?!" Thanks, kid. Oh, and another __thanks for the love__, by the way. Anyway, now that I _am _writing, how are you? When are you coming back? Will you be in Hogwarts this year? How's your vacation? Are people hospitable? Do you miss me – wait, of course you miss me. I'm me! I'm not even kidding. _

_I miss you. Write back soon. No boys. _

_Just as much love or maybe even more, Draco_

_---_

_Hermione? Where are you? We've been looking for you; your house isn't where it was before. McGonagall says she doesn't know where you are either. Hermione, we're worried. I miss you, Hermione. I really do. Wherever you are, we – me and everyone else – send our love. Write back as soon as you get this, please. We're really worried. _

_- Harry_

_---_

_You ask too many questions and you have a large ego. _

_Haha. I have one with me right now on my bed. Mmm…_

_HAHAHAHA. KIDDING. I CAN ALREADY IMAGINE YOUR FACE._

_- You know who_

_---_

_Thank you. _

_---_

_Blaise, _

You know who_ is damn irritating. She freaked me out! I wrote her a letter telling her no boys then she suddenly writes back telling me there's one right now on her bed. Then she writes, 'mmm…' then tells me she's kidding! Can you believe that girl? _

_But that's not entirely the reason why I wrote. I want to play Quidditch. See you later in ten. _

_- Drake_

_---_

_Hermione, were you the one who sent Harry a letter that said, "Thank you"? Where are you Hermione? I miss you, love. And you know me when I miss you. – Ron_

_---_

_Hahahaha! You're so funny. Anyway, when will I see you? Blaise and I went to Malfoy Manor yesterday for them to play Quidditch and –oh, wait! Your brother was there too - since I didn't have you, I sat on the stands alone while they played. We ate pie after and Drake kept on rambling on how he thought you were serious about the guy. Hahaha! Well, I MISS YOU and I LOVE YOU, babe. Take care, okay? _

_Love love love, Pansy_

_---_

_Hey beautiful,_

_I miss you, well I know you've read that a million times already from others but I do. We all do. Mum's writing to Hogwarts soon. I'm excited for the upcoming year, we all know why. How are you? I haven't talked to you in five days! That's our longest so far, huh? Well, I'll see you when I see you. I love you._

_Reach me when you get this, okay?_

_Your brother_

_---_

_Yes, mum. I'm taking care of myself. And how did that joke get to you?! That was just some joke, why is everyone making a big deal out of it? Pfft. Stupid Draco. I'm not joking, he knows it anyway. You should all know that and the fact that he's the one I love. (I'm smiling, can you tell?) I love you more, mum._

_I'll see you soon. _

_Love, your son's twin. HAHA!_

_---_

_*tap* *tap* *tap*_

"What the hell? Oh." Draco got up from his bed only in green with black stripes boxers and walked to the window. He let the owl in and got the piece of paper that was tied to his leg. Before opening it, he went to the shelf that was near the window and got a treat from one of the bowls and gave it to the bird. Next, he opened the letter. After a few seconds, Draco ran to his mother's bedroom like he was seven-years-old again and entered shouting, "She's coming home! She's coming home and going back to Hogwarts! She's coming home!"

He hadn't noticed that Narcissa was not lying on her bed but she was getting out of the bathroom in one of her everyday clothes in the manor. "Yes, Draco dear. I know she is. Her mother came over last night to talk while you were asleep."

"Mother, I went to sleep at two in the morning…" Draco said thinking.

"I know. But you know how Victoria gets when she's excited. She came here at three in the morning." Narcissa said, following it with a yawn. "She woke up your father and I. Can you believe that woman?"

Yes, folks. You can see the resemblance.

"Where is father anyway?" Draco said sitting down on the bed, still only in boxers.

Narcissa called for Dobby with a snap and the elf appeared.

"The madam called Dobby?"

"Dobby, would you get your young master a pair of jeans and a t-shirt please? Thank you." Narcissa smiled at herself in the vanity that she was sitting on as she fixed herself up.

Draco rolled his eyes as Dobby came back with the clothes. "A pair of shoes too, please." Draco stood up and wore the pair of jeans. "So where is father?"

Narcissa brushed her hair as she answered, "It's a secret. Fix yourself."

"Motherrrr…"

"Draco."

"I'm going to get breakfast." Draco said as he stood now in a black shirt, a pair of blue jeans and black and white Vans. Draco never showed it to the students in Hogwarts or other people but he was very much into teenage muggle boy clothing.

"Wait!" Narcissa demanded just as he was about to get out of the door. Draco looked at her expectantly and he knew what was going on. She was checking if he looked right. "Okay, go."

"Thank you." Draco said and went to the kitchens.

---

"What time will she be here?" The boy in a muggle Italian football team jersey and black jeans asked his mother.

"Well, let's see. It's two PM, three, four, five… She'll be here at six."

"Oh. Lucius, where's Draco?"

Lucius was sitting down on the sofa nearby and answered, "Manor. Sleeping when I left."

"I'll pay him a visit. I'll bring him over by five o'clock."

"Okay, dear. Please tell Narcissa to come over when you get there." The son's mother answered.

The handsome looking boy entered the fireplace, already with the dust and said, "'kay, sure. See you." He threw the dust at the same time he shouted, "MALFOY MANOR!"

The middle aged woman sat on the chair close to the couch just as the elf came into the room. "Mika would like to announce the arrival of Mr. Marcus and Mrs. Rufa Zabini, and the arrival of Mrs. Madison Parkinson." After that, the couples and wife of David Parkinson entered the living room.

Everyone greeted each other and after a few moments, the elves served two pitchers of lemonade and a plate of small cucumber sandwiches that were shaped into triangles. Everyone was talking when Narcissa appeared in the fireplace and she greeted everyone and sat beside her husband.

"What time is she arriving, Vicky?" Rufa asked.

"Five o'clock."

Lucius looked at her. "I thought you said-"

"I want to keep my daughter to myself first. I want to talk to her before our children ask her so many questions."

---

"What time is your sister arriving?" Blaise asked, sitting down on one of the chairs in Draco's room.

"Must you all be here every time?!" Draco asked as he came out of the bathroom in new clothes – a black button up shirt, a different pair of blue jeans and a pair of white Vans.

"Yes, Draco. And she's arriving at six, according to my mother." Said the other boy.

Pansy sighed. "I miss her so much."

Draco fake coughed and said, "Uh, what more me?"

"Hey, I miss her too!" Blaise exclaimed.

"Everyone loves my sister too much." And the other three in the room grinned.

"I love her more!" Draco said.

"Yeah, you better."

Draco grinned.

---

She was walking in the airport, with her luggage and her iPod in her pocket and earphones in her ears. She had big black sunglasses on and she was looking everywhere for any sign of brown hair like hers.

"C'mon, mum. Where are you?" Hermione mumbled to herself. Then she saw the familiar blonde hair. "Narcissa!" Hermione ran over to Narcissa Malfoy then she saw her mother.

"Hermione, dear!" Victoria hugged her.

Hermione smiled. She definitely missed her mother. Her mother finally let go and hugged Narcissa.

"Two months and already you look so different!" Narcissa exclaimed as she hugged Hermione.

When they let go of each other, they walked to the exit of the airport. "Good or bad different?"

"Let's just say you look more beautiful – if that's even possible." Hermione saw Lucius Malfoy and grinned. He took her luggage and kissed the top of her head. "And how are you miss?"

"I'm fine. Excited to see your son, thank you very much." Hermione smiled and Lucius rolled his eyes.

---

Hermione entered her room in their manor. She just finished greeting her mother's friends who were also the parents of her closest friends. She leaned her back on the door and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath then let it out after five seconds. _It feels damn good to be home_, Hermione thought. She smiled, still with her eyes closed. She will miss Europe. She will miss the original taste of pasta, the romantic music, the cute guys, the loud music in all the clubs she went to with her European friends.

But even though she already misses all of that, she was still excited to be home. She missed her twin, her mother, her manor, her boyfriend Draco, her friends Pansy, Blaise and her other friends –

"Hermione, dear?" Hermione's eyes shot up the second she heard her mother's knock on her door and her call.

"Yes, mum?" Hermione asked as she opened her door. Her mother entered and smiled at Hermione then hugged her. When they let go, Hermione offered her mom a seat on her bed. Her mother took a seat and patted the spot next to her and Hermione sat down.

"How did your backpacking around Europe go, darling?"

"Oh, mum. It was all I imagined it would be! It was all so great." Hermione smiled.

"That's nice. I hope it helped."

Hermione sighed. She knew it. "Mum, please, can we not talk about this?"

"Hermione, you and I will have to talk about your father's death in the war-"

"MOTHER! PLEASE, NOT NOW." Hermione stood. She did not want to talk about this right now. Her father's death and her fight in the war was the reason of her trip to Europe. She wanted to let go and move on and she knew that going away for a few months would help.

"Hermione, you and I both know you will not talk to me in that tone!" Victoria stood, too. She was only a few inches taller than Hermione. Hermione was 5'5, her mother must be around 5'7. She hated being small.

Hermione shut her eyes. She was trying to control her anger. She gets touchy easily with her mother. She loves her mother, they're close but her mother's tone could get out of hand sometimes, just like hers. "I'm sorry, mum. I just… It's just, I miss him. I miss my father. He did not have to die in the war to protect me. I could have handled myself. If he hadn't jumped in front of me and got hit by the Avada by Pettigrew, he could have still been here. It's my entire fault."

"Do not ever, EVER think that Hermione. Your father loved you, and I _know_ that right now, wherever he is, he still loves you. Your father did that for you because he cares for you and he knows that you will live a longer life where you will be married, have children, and be very successful. He did that Hermione because he has worked so hard for you and your brother to have a beautiful life ahead of you and he does not want to throw any of that away." Victoria said.

Hermione was crying by now. Her mother was right, she knew that. But her father's death was big to her. They were best friends, Hermione has had a lot of great friends, but her father was the best. He was a father and best friend – the perfect combo. That's what people called them too. They were always together and during the summers, Hermione would help him sometimes in work and sometimes, when Hermione would be in Hogwarts and she'd have trouble with her school work, she'd owl her dad right away. They relied on each other, and now that he's gone, she felt lost.

When she sat down on her bed again, her mother sat beside her and hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, sweetie. It's okay."

"I miss him so much." Hermione said in between sobs.

"We all do, baby girl." Hermione heard her brother. She looked up and saw him by the door. She got up and hugged her twin.

"Oh, Theo! I missed you!"

Theodore Nott hugged his little sister by two minutes and put his face into her soft locks. "I missed you too, beautiful. I missed you so much."

Behind him were Pansy, Draco and Blaise. This was their group – their group since they were in diapers. Hermione Nott, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, they were always together.

You see, Hermione was never Hermione Granger to them and only _they_ knew that – as in their families. Seventeen years ago, when the twins were born, the Nott couple – Andre (a Slytherin) and Victoria (a Gryffindor) Nott – they were in danger. Voldemort had wanted them to join the dark side. They had thought about saying no and since the Dark Lord could read their minds, he had threatened them that he would kill their daughter if they refused his offer. Before anything, the couple had sent their daughter to their muggle friends, Anne and Jackson Granger to keep their daughter for them. When the Dark Lord disappeared, they had Hermione back with them but Hermione still kept in contact with her second parents.

She still had to keep her real identity, though. In case of "emergencies". She did not expect to get close with Harry Potter and the Weasleys – it just happened. When Voldemort had come back, Victoria and Andre had lied and said that Hermione had died by a sickness that her twin Theo did not get. The Nott family joined the dark side and since Voldemort was too proud of them, he did not bother to make a double check. Andre was a very successful man, he was a great leader to his workers in their potions lab and Victoria was very, very smart and wise. Since Voldemort was too proud, he had not known that some of his "followers" were actually spies for the Order – the Malfoys, Parkinsons, Zabinis and last but not the least, the Notts.

Even in the Order, the Nott family was so used to hiding Hermione as their daughter, they had not made a point during a busy time to introduce themselves as a family. This year though, things will change. They will now introduce Hermione as Hermione Vianca Nott, twin sister of Theodore Adiel Nott and daughter of Andre and Victoria Nott.

**A/N**: I'm sorry if the spaces are messed up. I did this in my dad's small laptop and sent it to my e-mail then I copy pasted it to MS Word here in my dad's bigger laptop and I think it got messed up. So, I don't know how this'll look like when I upload.

Hope you guys liked the first chapter, though. =( I hope you din't get confused!


	2. ii

'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, 'ello, 'ello! =) I so love the ones who saved NTWK to their alert list. You flooded my email! LOL So thank you thank you and also to the (4) people who reviewed. I wish you guys were more though =( I thought of making this rule that I will only update if I get ten reviews each chapter. BUUUUT… I want to be nice to those who DO review. So I'm thinking of updating every no less than ten days. That's good, yes? =)

[This is more than ten days! Sorry, I got side-tracked and writer's block!]

Hope you guys like this. =) Also! **If you have ANY ideas for the story, I'd love it if you share them with me**. Not that I'm in TOTAL writer's block but I know how it feels to wish there was something in someone else's story. Ya get me?! LOL So on with the story, loves!

**Chapter Two**

Victoria left to go to the other guests downstairs while Theo and his and Hermione's friends came in the room to hang out. First, Hermione squealed in delight as she hugged her best girl friend Pansy, she smiled warmly as she hugged Blaise and she felt all tingly inside when she kissed her boyfriend Draco.

"I missed you too much." Draco whispered to her ear after their sweet kiss.

"Good." Hermione grinned. Draco smiled and brought his girl on the bed where Pansy was too. Hermione's room was pretty big. It was the same as her brother's that was on the other end of that floor.

Her room was just a tad smaller than the master's and she loved it. Her room had green yellow walls and a mahogany floor. Her princess bed (that she had since she was three, thanks to her daddy) was in the center of the room and had white satin curtains around it. She barely closed them except when she was seven and she loved acting like a princess. Hermione was a music lover so she charmed a stereo in her room that played all kinds of music that she could sing or dance to. She also had a vanity that had two big make-up kits, a small chest that had her jewels and was charmed which made it open only when she touched it.

She had a couch in her room that was at the end of her bed and two sofa chairs that were near the couch and there was a coffee table in the center which was where she often left her books, some papers and such.

In her room, there were two doors. There was one that lead to her bathroom that had dark green tile walls and had a white tub, a shower that was big enough for two, a toilet, a nice sink and a mirror that was also a cabinet.

The other door leads to a mall. _I'm kidding_ but when you enter Hermione's clothes room, you'd feel like you _were_ in a mall. The walls of her clothes room were similar to her bedrooms and so was her flooring. Being Hermione, all her clothes were organized. On the left side of the room, it was divided into her casual clothes (jeans, pants, t-shirts, skirts) and her party clothes (really short skirts, tube tops, spaghetti strapped tops). The right side was also divided but into formal clothes (gowns and formal dresses) and her house clothes (jerseys of muggle football teams, some tshirts for men that was given to her by some of the guys she knew, shorts) and some of her Hogwarts uniforms were in that part too, and in the far end of the room, there were six shelves: first two were filled with her formal shoes, next two were filled with her slippers, flip flops, sneakers and rubber shoes and the last two is where you'd find her party shoes.

Right now, Blaise was lying down on the couch where he could only stare at the ceiling, Theo was sitting on one of the sofa chairs, Pansy was sitting down at the end of the bed where she, Hermione was by her pillows, Draco hugging her from behind.

"So tell us about your trip," Theo said.

"Not much to say, really. There were cute guys but I don't think you boys would like to hear that," Hermione joked and laughed at Draco's eyes that rolled.

"Hahaha. Very funny." Draco said sarcastically.

"_Your sister Theo really bugged me out! Seriously. She knows I miss her," _

"_Then she goes on joking about having a man on her bed and then she says,"_

"_Mmmm… That woman…" _

Theo, Blaise and Pansy mocked Draco. Hermione couldn't stop laughing at her friends' acting. Draco's face was serious at first but when he saw Hermione's smile that he missed so much, he smiled and laughed with the rest. He still wasn't laughing at himself, though. He was too proud and he was only laughing since his girl's laugh was too contagious.

When everyone stopped laughing, Hermione was only smiling and turned to kiss Draco's lips. The both smiled into the kiss and after half a minute, Theo cleared his throat.

"Ehem. That's my sister. Ehem." Theo faked coughed.

Draco just waved his hand to him and continued kissing his friend's sister. Pansy rolled her eyes and made her way to Theo. She sat on his lap and snaked her arms around him and started kissing him. After all, they were dating. Blaise meanwhile was staring at the ceiling. He was used to this kind of behavior from his friends. He just wished she had Trina back…

Blaise didn't have a serious girlfriend since he was 15, his first girlfriend and love named Trina died in a car accident. She was a muggle who he met one day when he went to visit Hermione at the Grangers. Trina died when she was with her cousin who she didn't notice that time was under drugs, and they crashed into a big truck. She and Blaise were very in love and he was really messed up after he found out about her death from Hermione, but he was over that now. He knows that somewhere, Trina would want him to love another and she would want him to be happy. Even if he was over it, he still thought about her.

An elf named Prissy snapped Blaise out of his thoughts as she knocked on the bedroom door. "Prissy would like to announce that dinner is served downstairs, misses and misters." Prissy sqeaked.

"Prissy! Oh, I missed you! Go to the dining area during dessert as I would give everyone my presents, okay?" Hermione smiled as she and the others stood up.

"Oh, thank you madame Hermione! Prissy missed you too!" Prissy squeaked and snapped her fingers and disappeared.

---

Dinner and dessert was over when the adults said goodbye to the Notts and to the teenagers. Tomorrow was the first day of school and the teenagers wanted to spend the last night of summer together. They were going to have a "sleepover", which was Pansy's idea.

In the second floor of the Nott Manor is where you will find Theo and Hermione's separate bedrooms, their own library and what they called, the muggle room.

The muggle room was where you could find the telly, a DVD player, a stereo, a cabinet that had a lot of CDs, a popcorn machine, a refrigerator, an oven, a microwave, two couches and a really big space where they were going to put the sleeping bags.

They were watching _Anger Management_ and Hermione was singing, "I feel pretty! Oh, so pretty!" when everyone shushed her.

"Aw, c'mon! You know I have a beautiful voice!" Hermione smiled. It was true, though. Hermione was a beautiful singer and she got that from her mother. She was replied with popcorn thrown to her face by Pansy. Hermione stuck her tongue out and continued to watch the movie with her friends.

At one AM, they were all ready to go to bed – except Hermione and Draco. They were sitting on the couch and again, Hermione was sitting between his legs as Draco was leaning on the arm of the couch. He had his head in her hair which smelled like grape from her shampoo, his arms were around her tummy and she was leaning on his shoulder.

"Gods, I missed you Hermione."

"I missed you too," Hermione smiled.

"I love you." Draco mumbled in her hair.

Hermione was stunned. This was the first time he's said that to her since they had only started going out two weeks before she left for Europe, but they have been flirting with each other since they were in their fourth year. Hermione has been in love with him since she was 13, though. That was after she punched him, she went to him and apologized for doing it and that's when they both had their first kiss. Hermione smiled at the memory.

"Hermione, I understand if you're not in love with me but-"

"No, Draco I've been in love with you since forever." Hermione smiled and they shared a sweet kiss.

"What took you so long to answer, then?" Draco asked after they stopped kissing.

Hermione looked up at him. Even though the lights were out, she could still see those beautiful gray eyes that she loved staring into. "I just remembered our first kiss. That's when I fell in love with you."

"You've been in love with me since we were thirteen? We're 17 now and we just hooked up! Man, you're in love with me." Draco joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned in closer to him. "Shut up and kiss me."

---

The next morning when Hermione woke up, she was in pain. She realized that, she and Draco fell asleep on the couch with her neck still leaning on his shoulder and it sort of hurt when she moved it.

"About time you woke up, pretty face," Draco said and kissed the top of her head.

"Maybe I was just cozy in your arms," Hermione grinned.

Pansy then came into view in a short denim ra-ra skirt, a white long sleeved shirt, and black flats. "Yeah, you were so cozy that you woke up at ten AM."

"WHAT?! THE TRAIN LEAVES AT ELEVEN." Hermione exclaimed and got off the couch.

Theo and Blaise who were playing a game in the Play Station and Draco who was on the couch laughed. "We know that My, but you wouldn't wake up! To think Draco already got you off him three times and I even shouted your name five times. So here, I chose your clothes. Just get into the shower so we could leave. Might I remind you that your boyfriend is head boy and has to be at the tra-" Pansy was cut off.

"Okay, already!" Hermione said then ran out of the room and into her room then into her bathroom.

"Man, that girl is fast." Theo said.

"So, when are we going to tell her that it's only 8:45?" Blaise asked while still looking at the screen.

Then they heard a shout that was just too familiar, "TO HELL WITH YOU PEOPLE. YOU CALL YOURSELF FRIENDS?! IT'S ONLY 8:45!"

"I don't think we need to tell her," Pansy smiled as she sat beside Theo.

Then they all laughed and Draco went out the door. "Where you going, Drake?" Pansy asked.

"Going to defend myself and say that it was all your idea." Draco said casually.

"Oh, okay. Goo-"

"In the shower?" Theo asked.

Draco pretended to think for a second. "Yes, I do believe your sister is in the shower right now cussing."

"UGHHHH. Don't talk to me about my sister and you! I'm still TRYING to get used to the fact that you're even holding hands!" Theo said and covered his ears with his hands.

"Fine then." Draco said and walked to his girlfriend's room.

"Good luck!" Pansy shouted to Draco. Then turned to Theo, "Theo what is the matter with you?"

"Yeah, man. They love each other. Even you can tell." Blaise said as he turned off the TV and the play station.

Theo let out a sigh. "I know, but it's just weird – my sister and one of my mates going out together. She's my little sister!"

"By two minutes." Pansy and Blaise said in unison.

"I know! But little sister nonetheless. Draco is known for being a player, WE know he is-"

"Was, Theo. I love your sister. I would never use her. This disgusts me. You don't trust me after all we've been through?!" Draco then came in the room.

Theo stood up, "You been eavesdropping, mate? I trust you! It's just, you can't change just like that! Especially since you've known my sister as long as you've known me! What's so different about now, Draco?!"

"What's different now, Theo is that your sister and I did something for the first time for the both of us that made us BOTH realize there's really something there. I plan on proposing to your sister after graduation not only because we're bethroed but because I plan on spending every single day with her for the rest of my life because I LOVE HER. I WAS a player! Everyone knows that, even my mother knows that! But your sister's changed me-"

"WHY? BECAUSE YOU HAD SEX?!" Theo asked already enraged.

Draco was speechless. He didn't know what to tell Theo but he knew Theo was wrong. He's loved Hermione not only because they did it but because she was the most amazing woman in the world, next to his mother.

"How dare you, Theo." Hermione said behind Draco. Everyone was so into the fight that they hadn't noticed she was there. "How dare you think we love each other just because of sex!"

"Well that's how it sounded like, Hermione!" Theo said.

Hermione looked so hurt. "YOU KNEW I LOVED DRACO SINCE I WAS THIRTEEN. Draco loves me for me and I know that. YOU know that you're just finding reasons on why you shouldn't like us going out! You're unfair, Theo. I didn't even comment when you and Pansy went out and now you pull this?!"

"What's going on in here?" Victoria now came in the room, too. Everyone fell silent. "Don't make me ask twice. Blaise, talk," she demanded.

"Theo and Draco were fighting then Hermione came in and fought with Theo –"

"What were they fighting about?"

"Draco and I's relationship, mother. Theo's looking for reasons to go against it!" Hermione said.

Theo then stepped up beside his sister and in front of his mother. "Mother, they've had sex!"

"And you haven't with your darling Pansy?" Victoria asked.

Theo and Pansy's face went as pale as Draco's. "We- I- Uh.."

"So what's the problem then?" Victoria asked.

Theo let out a sigh. He walked to Draco and held his hand out then said, "I'm sorry, mate. I just have to really get used to the both of you. I know you love her. Hermione's right. I was just looking for an excuse. She's my sister and I'm her brother, I'm the only man in the house now and my father's wish was that I take care of her. I was just scared."

Draco smiled. And pulled Theo into a hug then let go. "You know I will never hurt her. I love her. You're doing a pretty good job on your father's wish, Theo."

Hermione cleared her throat. Theo walked to her and she didn't wait. She hugged him instantly. "I love you Hermione. He WILL take care of you. I'm sorry."

"Sorry I hugged you first. I love you too much. I'm also sorry for shouting at you." Hermione said.

"Okay, then. Now that that's settled, who wants breakfast?" Victoria smiled.

"I'm hungry." Blaise said and went out the door and the others followed him. Victoria sighed.

"They still act like kids sometimes but they've grown up so fast." She said to herself.

---

The families that were together last night for dinner met at 9 ¾ and Hermione was getting nervous to see Harry and the Weasleys. She was holding hands with Draco who was in a white long sleeved shirt, black pants and his favorite white Vans and she was in a denim ra-ra skirt, similar to Pansy's, a red plaid top, a black belt on her waist and black one inch heels. Her hair was in a pony tail that showed her white pearls that came from her grandmother.

"Nervous?" Draco asked as he and Hermione walked to the train, their friends behind them and their trunk in their hands.

"Me? Nervous? No. Why would I be nervous? Haha. Nervous isn't in my-"

"Your hands are shaking, luv." Draco said and kissed her temple.

"Hermione?" Hermione closed her eyes. She knew they were in front of her. She could hear Lavander Brown and Pavarti Patil whispering.

"Ronald." She opened her eyes. Ronald Weasley's face was read, staring at her. Harry Potter was staring at something, and when Hermione looked where, she saw that he was staring at her hand that was holding Draco's. Ginny Weasley was behind them looking at her group and beside her were the gossip queens of Hogwarts who were whispering like mad women.

"What are you doing with that?" Ron asked, not taking her eyes off her.

Hermione was surprised. "That, Ronald? That or HIM? 'cause I'm pretty sure my boyfriend is a person, not an object."

"Boyfriend?!" the two gossip queens exclaimed.

Hermione could hear Pansy behind her say, "Duh."

"ALL ABOARD!"

"As much as I think we'd all like to continue this conversation, I think we need to get on the train before it leaves us, yes?" Theo joined.

---

**A/N:** I feel like that was awful. =( I already owe you big time and I give you this! I promise to try and make it up to you on the third chapter! I don't want y'all hatin' on me now. Please review, ladies and gentlemen. Don't forget – if you got ideas, share them with me! Thank you and talk to you in the next chap!


	3. iii

They all boarded the train and all Hermione was thinking was how the continuation of their talk was going to go. She didn't mean to snap at Ron about the _that_ and _him_ thing – she got paranoid and she really didn't like how Ron called Draco a "that". She had her hand in Draco's as they entered the train and he was very close to her with their luggage in his other hand.

"I almost forgot. I have to be at the Head's Compartment right now," Draco whispered in her ear.

Hermione's eyes went wide and stopped walking. She looked back at Draco and said, "But I need all the support I can get!"

"I know, luv. But I have to meet McGonagall. If only you didn't say no to the position."

Hermione sighed. She got a letter when she was in Europe from McGonagall saying that she was assigned Head Girl, but she refused. Being a Head Girl would make her too busy and she didn't want that this year. She wanted to enjoy her last year in Hogwarts by just studying her last lessons and being with friends – well, what's left of them.

"Okay, fine. Just promise me right after the meeting you'll look for me and stay with me?" Hermione answered him.

Draco smiled warmly and then used the hand that was previously holding Hermione's to grab the back of her neck and kissed her forehead. "I promise. I'll be with you, okay - but only as long as you're done talking to them." Hermione whimpered at that. "You're a brave girl and I love you."

"I love you too."

"Hermione." Harry called her. He was outside one of the compartments waiting for her to enter.

Hermione closed her eyes again and felt Draco whisper, "Brave."

"Right. Brave." Hermione opened her eyes again, kissed Draco's cheek and walked to Harry. "Harry."

"What's happened, Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione let out a deep breath.

"If I tell you will you promise to still accept me?"

Harry looked at her, in her eyes he saw that she was scared. But he knew Hermione – she was just afraid to loose anything that meant a lot to her. "Ron's waiting inside."

---

Harry and Hermione entered the compartment and she saw that Ron was seated on the left seat and staring at her. Harry pointed at the right seat, saying that she could sit there. She did and Harry sat at the left, near Ron.

"Start, Hermione." Harry said.

Hermione knew why Ron wasn't talking. He was red, for crying out loud. If he opened his mouth, he would just yell.

"Why don't you ask questions then I'll explain. It's easier that way."

"I think the best question to be asked right now is why you are with Malfoy?!" Ron boomed.

"Ron, don't shout. Hermione can hear you," Harry said.

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione slightly smiled at him. She was looking down, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "Fine, let's not start with questions. It would be too complicated if we started with Draco and I."

Harry was really staring at Hermione. She looked different in the best way possible, but she looked really nervous too. It rattled him that his best friend for almost seven years was so nervous just talking to them. Was it that bad? "Hermione, don't be nervous. It's just me and Ron. Sure, he's mad but only because we saw you differently out there. What is going on?"

Hermione looked at Harry. He will forever be the best. "Okay, well… Let's start with… My name really isn't Hermione Granger. My name's Hermione Vianca _Nott_,"

---

"But you're still going to be in Gryffindor, right?" Harry asked Hermione after an hour of talking about her real life.

"Yes. My mother, Victoria was in Gryffindor. While my father, Andre was in Slytherin."

"…Which explains you and Theo."

Hermione nodded. So far, the two boys – well, actually with their height and body, you could call them men- were very quiet and only asked questions once in awhile. Especially Harry.

Ron wasn't so mad anymore, not so mad because he still didn't know about her and Draco. Before he asked about that though, he told Hermione, "I'm sorry about your father, Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him weakly. "Thank you. But please don't mention his death? I still haven't had the chance to completely grasp the fact of it yet."

"Sorry."

"Oh, no! I meant like, I really don't want to talk much about it. I'm trying to be happy and move on. My father was my bestest friend in the world." Hermione looked down.

Harry leaned into Hermione and lifted her chin with his finger. He kissed her forehead (**A/N:** Sorry, I just really love it when guys do that. :p) and she smiled. He leaned back and said, "We can't be your father or anything. And we don't know a lot about Hermione Nott like Pansy and the others do. But if you give us a chance, we'll be your best friends."

Hermione felt like crying. She smiled and got off her seat and hugged Harry, and he hugged her back. "Oh, thank you Harry! I love you so much!"

Ron stood up too and she hugged him, "I'm with Harry. Even though we don't know a lot yet, we'll always be here for you 'Mione. I'm very sorry for blowing up at you earlier. I was just taken back."

"It's okay, Ron! I'm so sorry too. I love you!"

"I take it you are all okay now?" Draco was heard at the door of the compartment.

The trio sat down on their seats then Ron looked at him and Harry nodded. "We are. But Hermione hasn't talked about you and her going out yet. Sit down, Malfoy."

Draco stepped inside and sat beside Hermione. She smiled at him. She had tears in her eyes and he grabbed her left hand with his right and used his left to shed away her tears.

"You okay?"

Hermione nodded with a smile. "Brave."

"Brave."

Ron cleared his throat and the two looked back at the other two. "Sorry." Hermione grinned. "Draco and I have been dating since the start of summer, but like I said earlier, I've known him since forever. Well, we started flirting with each other after the Yule Ball in fourth year but I've been in love with him since third…"

"You punched him that year." Harry wondered.

Draco rolled his eyes. He hated it whenever people remembered that. "Hermione came to me after and she apologized. And I congratulated her. Weird, I know. But it's because Hermione and I with our other friends we're taught self-defense ever since we were seven."

"That's true. And I was pretty weak at it and Draco always made fun of me. Since I wanted to prove him wrong and were in a hurry that time, I decided to punch him."

Harry clapped and laughed and so did Ron.

"Thanks." Draco said sarcastically.

"We don't want any girly things so Malfoy, why don't you be the one to tell us about you and Hermione?"

"Hey!" Hermione whined.

"Well, I love her very much. She's always been my favorite person in the entire world after my parents. We're bethroed, but aside from that, I really want to be with her." Draco smiled. The entire time he was looking at Hermione, and Hermione was getting teary again. "Stop crying."

Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

Ron sighed. He always loved Hermione. "I can accept the Nott thing. But it's too soon for this. Sorry." He said and got up and left the compartment, not waiting for an answer from anyone.

Hermione looked down and sighed. She understood him. She knew why. She looked up at Harry who was still looking back at her.

"You get him, right?" Harry asked.

"Of course."

Harry nodded slowly. "Well, then. All I have to say about the two of you is, Malfoy, you hurt her, remember how many people love Hermione. You get that?"

"Yeah. Thank you." Draco replied.

"Well, I need to go talk to someone. I'll see you two later." Harry got up. Hermione let go of Draco's hand and hugged him. Draco stood up to shake Harry's hand.

When Harry was about to leave the compartment Hermione asked him, "Who's the someone?"

"Ginny."

"Oh. Harry, please don't-"

"I won't tell her, Hermione. I find it irritating most of the time that she's so close with Lavender and Parvarti."

"Speaking of Patil, she's the Head Girl." Draco said.

"I wish I took the job instead." Hermione mumbled to herself.

"Oh, and Potter, please get dressed. We're arriving soon." Draco said.

"Sure." Harry said and left.

When the compartment door shut, Hermione and Draco hugged each other. "The one you told them, was that true?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Hermione. I love you and I want to be with you for as long as I can!"

Hermione smiled into his chest. She lifted her head and looked at him and kissed him on the lips which lead to making-out for a minute.

"You have to get ready now too and I have to go tell the other students." Draco said as he just has his arms around her.

"Okay. I'll go meet Pansy and the others."

They walked out of the compartment, shut the door and Draco walked to the right to go tell other students to get dressed and Hermione went to the left to look for Pansy, Theo and Blaise.

---

**A/N**:

That

Was

Short!

Sorry. I just wanted to give you something since I haven't updated in awhile. I don't think I can cope up with the ten days thing since I lose ideas a lot and school's starting soon. :( So I will only update when I can. Is that alright? I'm sorry.

Anyway, thank you for adding my story to your alerts, it meant a lot to me. Also, more thanks to the two reviewers I got from the second chapter:

**mandsiepop**, thank you for your very nice review. :) It made me very happy!

**fallingstar93**, thank you for the suggestion!

Again, I hope you were more! Haha. And don't forget to share your ideas!

_Hey, you see that green box there? Click it! _


	4. iv

"Oh, Gods! Hermione!"

Hermione was surprised by Pansy in the compartment. Outside the compartment, she could see Pansy just staring outside the window while Theo and Blaise talked. When she entered, Pansy saw her and stood up, pulled her out of the compartment and pulling her into another one, leaving the boys speechless at how their friends who were girls were so fast.

Pansy pushed Hermione on the right seat and she was pacing around the compartment.

"Pansy, what is going on?" Hermione exclaimed.

Pansy was still pacing. She went out of the compartment and entered the compartment where she shared with the boys. Hermione was just about to leave when Pansy came inside again, now with her wand.

"Are you going to kill me or something?!" Hermione asked. When Pansy still didn't answer her, she got annoyed. "PANSY!"

"SHUSH! I'm thinking!"

"About what?!"

Pansy sighed and sat on the left seat and Hermione on the right. Pansy had her elbows on her lap and she buried her face in them, her wand beside her.

Hermione got up and knelt in front of Pansy. She cupped Pansy's face in her hands and said, "Pansy, please. What is up with you?"

Hermione let go of Pansy's face when Pansy lifted her head up. She had a very scared expression on her face, almost like Hermione's earlier. Hermione was worried.

"IthinkI'mpregnant." Pansy mumbled.

Hermione thought she heard it, but she wasn't sure. "I'm sorry. What?"

Pansy looked at Hermione straight in the face. "I said, I think I'm pregnant."

Hermione's face went blank. "But… How… I mean… I know how… But… What?!"

Pansy pursed her lips. "But it's not your brother's."

Hermione sat on the seat and stared at Pansy's face. She wanted to see if she was joking, lying or anything. But no, there was nothing there, nothing but fear. Hermione copied Pansy's actions earlier; she buried her face in her hands and shook her head. After five seconds, she stood up, pacing. She saw Pansy's wand, grabbed it and thought of a spell she once read in a book.

"Lie down." Hermione ordered.

Pansy knew that when Hermione talked like this, she was to be followed. No one messes with Hermione when she orders something. Hermione bit her lower lip and lifted Pansy's shirt. She pointed the wand to Pansy's abdomen and muttered, "Gravida."

Pansy's abdomen began to glow. First it was mild turning into yellow, then it began to be orange, then red. Hermione let out a heavy sigh and smiled. "Negative!"

Pansy pulled her shirt down, stood up and hugged Hermione. "Oh, thank you Hermione!"

"You're welcome. But I still need an expla-"

"Ladies, beautiful, beautiful ladies, why aren't you dressed yet?" Draco entered the compartment.

"Sorry. Um, Hermione and I needed to talk," Pansy said.

"About?"

"Girl stuff, darling. We needed to get nap-" Hermione chimed in.

"Okay, okay I get it! Just get dressed now, please?" said Draco.

Hermione giggled and said okay. She and Pansy left the compartment and entered the previous one, got their uniforms from their luggage and went to the restrooms.

"Women." Draco sighed and went to Theo and Blaise.

---

When the train stopped, Hermione was with Harry. Draco had to lead the first years and ride the same carriage as Parvarti so he and Hermione had to part. Ginny was a prefect so she had to help. Harry helped Hermione ride the carriage and then Luna Lovegood, Ron, Lavander Brown and Seamus Finnigan joined them. Harry expected Hermione to be very nervous but he noticed she wasn't.

Harry whispered in her ear, "You nervous?"

Hermione looked at him in question. "Why should I be?" she whispered back.

"Never mind."

Lavander suddenly exclaimed, "Hermione! You and Draco! Speak!"

Hermione answered her, "Uh. We're together. End of story."

The gossip queen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, c'mon!"

"There's nothing to speak about. We're together. So what?"

"Well you can't be together just like-"

"Oh, look! We're here." Harry saved Hermione.

He helped Hermione get off the carriage now and they walked with the others to the entrance of Hogwarts.

When they entered the Great Hall, it was the usual setting. But Hermione decided to take it all in unlike her second to sixth year when she just shrugged it off. It was her last year - this would be the last time she'll see the fake thunderstorm on the ceiling, the wooden tables, and the teachers waiting at the front… Everything. She'll miss it all. She walked not so fast, not slow either. She took her time and she noticed most students from her year were, too. She smiled at that. She could sense they would all miss it.

She sat down on her usual spot with Harry and Ron and a lot of the students from sixth to second year were greeting them with smiles and waves of hello and they greeted them back. One second year boy who was friends with Hermione since last year even sat beside her and said, "Thank you, Hermione."

"For what, Liam?"

"For making him disappear."

Hermione smiled weakly at the little boy. "I think you should thank Harry for that one."

"Well, thank you too, Harry." Liam turned to Harry.

"You're welcome, Liam." Harry smiled at him.

Liam lost his parents to Voldemort a month before his first year in Hogwarts. They were purebloods who were against the Dark Lord, but he wanted them to be deatheaters since they were very intelligent and powerful. They ignored his invitation, and said they were against every little thing he was doing. This outraged Voldemort and he killed them himself in their Manor. Luckily though, Liam wasn't there but he was with his aunt in the States.

_Liam met Hermione one day during last year in the library. It was the second month of school and he didn't know about his parents yet. All his aunt told him was that they were gone for awhile. Liam was very close to his parents and he wasn't used to not seeing them, especially since he was now a Hogwarts student, just like they were. _

_He was crying that day in one of the quiet corners of the library. Hermione was searching for a book and then heard muffling and sobs coming out of a person's mouth. She went to look for it and found Liam. _

"_Hey, what's wrong?" She asked and sat down on the chair beside his. _

_Liam was still trying to catch his breath but managed to say, "My parents. I haven't seen them in so long." _

_This worried Hermione. She asked Liam an unlikely question. "Are both your parents purebloods?" _

_Liam looked up at her and wiped his eyes then nodded. _

_This worried Hermione even more. She knew Voldemort has been around, trying to recruit new deatheaters and the ones who were against him were killed. _

"_What's your name?" Hermione asked him._

"_My name's Liam, Liam Cooper." _

_This hit Hermione. Greta and Jeremy Cooper were killed by Voldemort last summer, she knew this because every death was reported at the Order. She felt that this kid was a first year, maybe his relatives failed to tell him to spare him the pain. _

"_Liam… I… I don't know how to say this but…" Hermione was so speechless. She didn't know how to tell him but she knew he deserved to know. _

"_Aren't you Hermione Granger? Aren't you helping kill Voldemort?" Liam squeaked._

"_Well, yes." _

_Liam nodded slowly. "My parents are dead, aren't they?" _

_Hermione was taken back. How could he know this? This is really confusing her. But if he could have guessed it, then maybe he could accept it too. She lowered her head and nodded. _

_She suddenly felt hands wrap around her and Liam was crying on her shoulder. She patted his back and felt very sorry for him. Just as she was about to tell Liam she was sorry though, Harry and Ron suddenly came into view. _

"_Herm-" Harry stopped. He looked at the child that was being taken care of by Hermione. He and Ron got two seats and sat near them. Harry mouthed, 'what's wrong' to Hermione and she just shook her head slowly and kissed the top of Liam's head._

_After about five minutes, Liam stopped crying and he sat down properly on his chair and saw that there were two more people with them. "Harry Potter?" Harry nodded to the 11 year old. Liam turned his head to the red head next and said, "Ron Weasley?" Ron nodded back to him, too._

"_Hi. You know us, we want to know you." Ron told him. _

_Liam was too shocked to see that he was with the Golden Trio that Hermione had to speak for him, "Ron, Harry, this is Liam Cooper…" _

_Harry looked at Hermione suddenly in question. "Cooper…" _

"_Yes, they were my parents…" Liam said and lowered his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. _

_Harry stood and went to Liam and patted his back. "We're sorry, Liam… I wish any of us were there to help prevent… What happened…" _

"_We all do, kid." Ron said. _

_Liam nodded his head slowly. "Thanks." _

"_Where are your friends, Liam?" Hermione asked. _

"_I don't have friends, really. I was too sad about my parents not being with me at the station that I ignored anyone who was trying to be friends with me. And I thought they were just busy so I tried to get the best grades in my year so I study all the time and then have no time for anything else." _

_The three sixth years looked at each other. "We'll be your friends, Liam." The three said in unison. That wasn't expected so they laughed a bit which made the young boy laugh too. _

…And ever since, Liam was always with them 'til he started to move on from the loss of his parents. He then started hanging out with students in his age, house, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff. He still has some fun with the trio but he would rather be with his age.

"You look more beautiful this year, Hermione!" says Liam's friend, Trey who is also a second year student from Gryffindor. He also has one of the cutest crushes on Hermione ever since he saw her on his first day at the platform last year.

Hermione giggled and replied, "Why thank you, Trey. You look very handsome yourself."

The 12 year old then blushed.

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened with a boom and then came in Professor Sprout with the first years. Professor McGonagall was the new head mistress of Hogwarts and Professor Sprout was the new deputy. The usual sorting then began for the first years.

When everyone that that it was over, Professor Sprout then announced, "Benito, Samuel."

Hermione's face went flushed. It can't be him. Just as she thought that, a handsome boy, about 6 feet and 5 inches tall, brown hair, hazel eyes, and not too muscular walked in the Great Hall and walked to Professor Sprout. Just as he was walking, he stole a glance from Hermione who looked away slowly, as to not catch any attention. She didn't look up when she heard him sit down on the stool, and hear the hat begin to speak. She didn't even listen until,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

_Oh, wow_, thought Hermione.

-----

Short again. :( I just wanted to upload something for all of you and I wanted to write something. I've been VERY busy. I'm going to be a senior in a few weeks and I'm attending college entrance exam review classes everyday and our classes take nine hours, then I go to the gym right after and I'm TIRED when I get home.

So I'm really sorry. But my classes will end this Friday though! YEYYYY! But my real classes start in two weeks. :O Wish me luck, please! And I'll update sooner. (smugs)

Thank you to the (two) people who left me reviews!

**jessirose85**, that was nice of you. Thank you! :)

**LovingBlackParadise**, I'm sorry the one you're waiting for isn't here yet, but I promise it will be on the next chap! Thank you!

I've said it a bazillion times, I'll say it again…

I wish you were more!

So cllickity that green thing that says, **Review this Story/Chapter** and I will love you and update for you sooner! Also a big thanks to the new people who have added NTWK to their alerts! :)

Tah-tah!

**P.S. **

Follow me on Twitter, if you want. Just PM me if you want my I.D.!


	5. v

Everyone in Gryffindor cheered when the hat announced Samuel's house. That is, except Hermione. Again, not to catch any attention she faked a smile and lost it when he sat down beside her. He was about to speak when McGonagall said the usual speech.

After that, Hermione prayed to the heavens that the headmistress would make the speech longer to give her more time to avoid Samuel. But no, it ended right after her boyfriend's name was announced as Head Boy and Patil's as Head Girl. The food then appeared right in front of them and although she was feeling a bit famished on the train; she felt that she wanted to skip her dinner. Instead she got a corn muffin and started to eat.

She was finished eating her muffin and drinking a goblet of water and waiting for Harry and Ron to finish when Samuel began to talk to her.

"Hermione." He whispered.

_Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. If you avoid him, he'll stop._ Hermione thought.

"Hermionee…" He whispered again in a singing way. She still avoided him. "You know, if you avoid me, people will notice. You're not that hard to read. _I should know._"

Hermione breathed in and looked at him. "Shut. Up." She whispered so low, she knew for sure only the two of them could hear her.

"There you go! See? Was that so hard to do; although a hello could've been better." Samuel winked at her.

"Samuel,what-"

"Hermione, you know him?" Harry asked.

Hermione stared at Samuel and he was smug. "Yes, we met at Rome when she went there."

"Oh." Harry said. "You two close?"

Hermione was just about to answer no when Samuel answered for her, "Yes. _Very _close." Hermione rolled her eyes at that. "In fact, Hermione and I spent whole three days and one-"

"Week together. You're not making sense, Samuel. Anyway, Samuel is from Rome." Hermione 'continued' for him.

Ron and Harry's eyebrows raised at the odd… friendship.

Lavender then joined the conversation. She and the other girls in Gryffindor have been staring at him the entire evening. "So, Samuel! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, not really." Samuel smirked.

"Not really? What do you mean not really?" Parvarti asked.

"Well, there is this one girl. Beautiful, sexy, amazing in.. Well, you know." Samuel smirked and the girls sighed.

"Who is she?!" Ginny asked.

Samuel turned to Hermione, "Hermione knows."

"Who is she, Hermione? Is she really what he says she is?!?!" One of the Gryffindor girls asked.

Hermione faked another smile and shrugged. And just as she was about to get up from the table with Ron and Harry, Samuel whispered, "Would they like to know?"

Hermione huffed. "I'll see all of you in the morning. Night." And she walked to the entrance with Harry and Ron. She was walking so fast that Ron and Harry had to try hard keeping up with her.

"I find him weird." Ron said as they got into the hallway.

"So do I. What was up with all his whispers, Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione tried to think of something. "Like he said, we were close… So, he… Uh, tried to tell me all that's been going on with our friends in Rome ever since I left and some of them were… Well, could only be understood by us."

Thank the heavens Ron and Harry didn't pick up so fast. "Oh." Said both.

---

Hermione was just about to climb in her bed when an owl tapped on her window by her bed. She knew it was Draco's owl. They promised each other that if they didn't get to spend the last few minutes of their night together, they would write to each other. That wasn't Hermione's plan, by the way. That was Draco's.

_Hey. _

_Who was that Benito guy? I know I sound jealous and paranoid but why was he so close to you and kept whispering in your ear? I don't like it. _

_Enough about him. I'm going to bed now and I'll wake up early in the morning at around 6:30 to just fly around the pitch, take a shower then pick you up at your dorms. So don't write back anymore, go to sleep. I love you. _

_Love, Draco _

She was thankful that Draco didn't want her to write back anymore. She was tired and she knew she'd have to lie to him. She didn't want to lie but she wasn't ready to tell Draco what happened in… Well, there.

So she kept the letter in a small box that was full of Draco's letters to her and kept the box in her trunk. She blew out the candle that was by her night table and climbed in her bed and fell fast asleep.

"_Hi, I'm Samuel." Samuel danced his way to Hermione in the club. She was swaying her hips from side to side and her arms were raised, making her tank top climb up her torso. Everyone could see her flat stomach that had a belly ring. She was so into the music that she only noticed Samuel when he had his hands on her hips and he was trying to grind with her._

_She was also drunk since she's been drinking and dancing the night away with her Romanian friends who she met at a café near her hotel. So she let Samuel dance with her but turned her back to him but let his hands on her hips and dance with him. Her new friends who knew she had a boyfriend were somewhere by the booths making out or drinking with other people so they couldn't really stop her. _

"_What's your name, bella?" Samuel asked her. _

"_Hermione. I'm English." She said and turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, still dancing._

_Samuel groaned. "Ah. I'm from here. You on vacation?"_

_Hermione nodded._

"_Let me help you enjoy then." And they drank and danced the rest of the night away. _

"Hermioneee…"

"Hermioneee…"

"Hermioneee…"

"Oh, Hermione honestly! Wake up!" Lavender exclaimed and pulled the sheets off Hermione.

"What did you do that for?!" Hermione shouted, standing up.

"To wake you up! Your boyfriend has been waiting outside the commons for five minutes now. He said he told you that he was going to pick you up!"

Hermione panicked and ran out of her dorms and went straight to the portrait hole to see Draco leaning on the wall.

"It's about… Hermione, love. It's no longer summer, darling. And thank you for wearing a bra. I would've hurt every single guy who tried to ogle you."

"Huh?" Hermione looked down at her attire. Pink pajamas and a white tank top. "Oh. Sorry. I just woke up. Come in. You're allowed, anyway."

Draco showed his Head Boy badge to the Fat Lady and went in the common room with Hermione. He kissed her on the lips as soon as they got in and after. "So. This is what it looks like."

"Yep. I'll be down right away. Sorry again." Hermione kissed him on his cheek and ran to her room. She took a shower, wore her robes and put on a little make-up and went back down to the common room to see...

"Draco. What are you and Samuel talking about?" Hermione tried to smile a genuine one.

"Oh, nothing much. Samuel here is very much into Quidditch. I just invited him to come over during Christmas break with us at the manor to play with the boys and I."

Hermione's face fell.

"Is there something wrong with that, Hermione?" Samuel asked.

Hermione glared at him when she knew Draco wasn't looking. "Nothing. I just thought I'd spend the whole break alone with my boyfriend, is all."

Draco put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Aw, don't worry darling. You'll have me most of the time. And that's still far away anyway." Hermione smiled at him. "Breakfast?"

"Please." Hermione said. And the three walked to the portrait hole and out. It was around 8:30 already so there were a lot of people awake already and on their way to the Great Hall. Now, everybody has heard about Hermione and Draco through the gossip queens but not everyone believed it since not everything they said were true. Not a lot saw them at the station either so it was really hard to believe.

That is, until they walked in hand in hand the Great Hall together. It was so quiet that when Daphne Greengrass' bobby pin fell to the floor from her hair, the hall heard it. Even if Hermione still wasn't so keen with Samuel being in Hogwarts, she couldn't help but laugh at the school's reaction to her and Draco going out. Girls glared at her, men glared at Draco, Professor Sprout's mouth was open and so was Hagrid's. A fork's fall to the floor was heard right after Draco kissed Hermione's cheek and he whispered in her ear, "Bloody hell. I know for a fact we will be the talk of the whole school today."

"So do I. Go eat."

"See you."

Hermione sat down beside Harry who was just eating his eggs, not caring people's reactions.

Everyone else who didn't know that the couple was really together was still staring at either Hermione or Draco. Pansy wanted to laugh already but everyone staring at her friends was pretty weird and she knew Hermione would be conscious. So she stood on her seat and shouted, "THEY'RE TOGETHER. GET OVER IT!" At that, the people either looked at her or started minding their own business again… Or maybe just talking about Hermione and Draco.

Hermione looked at the laughing Pansy who looked back at her and Hermione mouthed, _Thanks, Pans!_

Pansy nodded and laughed with the boys again.

---

First class of the seventh year Gryffindors was Potions with the seventh year Slytherins. Aaah… Everyone's favorite class ever.

Hermione walked with Harry and Ron to the dungeons. Snape was back, 'cause although he could be a pain in the hiney, anyone would prefer him than Slughorn. Hermione felt Samuel behind them, walking with the girls who admired him so much 'cause of his good looks and his accent.

They entered the classroom to see some classmates in already and she saw a vacant seat beside Draco. She smiled at Ron and Harry and the latter was the only one who nodded since Ron just went off to get a seat for him and Harry. Hermione sighed, but still made her way beside Draco who greeted her with a smile.

"Is this seat taken?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. It's for you."

Hermione laughed a little and sat on the chair. Her hands were on her lap and Draco held her right. They smiled, but not at each other, since they already knew.

"Today you will study the truth potion, Veritaserum." Snape said to the class. "Today you will only study it, not make it. You will research on it, study it and we will make it in our next class. I will leave you. You will do the studying with the partners, who you are sitting beside." Snape continued. "Before anything, attendance."

Snape called eleven students including Hermione's friends 'til it was her turn. "Nott, Hermione."

Everyone was silent.

"Here, professor." Hermione raised her hand. She could already feel everyone who didn't know looking at her.

"Nuttel, Rick." Snape called. No one answered, but Snape knew he was there. "Nuttel, Rick!"

"Here, professor!" the Gryffindor, along with the others were still quiet. How did Hermione become a Nott?

"I suggest, Mister Nuttel and to the others to stop staring at Miss Nott." Snape said. "With that, I leave you. Start!" No one moved. "I said START!" Everyone got their books from their bags and started talking with their partners and Snape left.

Draco and Hermione started researching but didn't put too much effort into it since they already knew about it. "That was weird." Hermione said.

"Well, you can't really blame them." Draco replied as he turned the page of his Potions book.

Hermione sighed for the nth time that morning. "I know, I know. But I didn't expect them to completely shut up."

Draco stopped 'reading' and sat straight and kissed Hermione's temple. "Leave them be. Let's just get this year over with."

Behind Hermione, she could hear someone say, "Hi, I'm Samuel Benito… Yeah, I'm friends with Hermione…"

Hermione closed her eyes for awhile. "You okay, luv?" Draco asked.

"Yeah. Just a bit bored because of the lesson. I know this already." Hermione said. "You're right. Let's just get this school year over with."

-----

Hello! I just wanted to post something for you today (Saturday, June 13, 2009) since school starts on Monday already. I'm going to be officially a senior high school student! Yippee!

I hope you get why Samuel's here. :) Haha! I was LOLing when I saw your reviews about him.

I love it that I got more reviews than I usually do. I hope you guys continue that! You guys are hella awesome, I love you!

**TheresNothingInside** I hope this chapter answers your question :)

**Jessica123** Thank you!

**ShadX - Dramione Fan **Here's the update!

**amorreal **Hey, you guessed it right! :) Thank you!

**LovingBlackParadise** I was typing your name while writing these replies and then I felt déjà vu. Then I check the reviews and this is your third! Thank you for continuing to read NTWK! :) Twitter is… Well just go to , haha! I don't recall if I promised the engagement would be announced here, but I'm sorry it isn't! Maybe, maybe. :) But you'll know sooner or later! Again, thank you for reviewing for the third time. I hope you continue!

**fallingstar93 **Yey! Another reader who reviewed for the third time! Hello! Thank you for continuing to read my story. :)

Thank you guys again. I'm so happy right now. Haha! Also a thank you to the ones who saved this story to their favorites and to their alerts, I'm touched!

Oh, yeah. I honestly swear that I do not know how to write a make-out or sex scene. Really. So I was wondering if anyone out there could help me write one or write one for this story? PM me or leave a review and I'll try to talk to you, OK? Thank you!!!

Well, that's all. I will write the next chapter soon and if anyone replies fast about the scenes I don't know how to write, who knows? There might be some smut in the next chapter. Haha.

Talk to you in the next chapter, fellas. Bye!


	6. vi

That afternoon, after all her classes, Hermione went to the Gryffindor common room to do her homework. It was a nice day out and most of the students went aside to enjoy the weather so it was quiet in the common room. Parvarti Patil came in and was hand in hand with Dean Thomas. She saw Hermione scribbling with her quil and kissed Dean.

"Where you going?" Dean asked.

"Just have to have a few words with Hermione. I'll see you in awhile," said Parvarti.

"Fine then. Don't take long." Dean said and went to his dormitory.

Parvarti walked over to Hermione and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hello, Miss Nott."

"Oh, hey Parvarti. Congratulations on you and Dean. Ginny told me about it at lunch." Said Hermione. She put her quill down and looked up at Parvarti.

"Thank you. Hey, wanna talk by the couch for awhile?"

"Sure." Hermione stood up and walked to the couch with Parvarti. They sat down and Hermione noticed that Parvarti was thinking deeply about something. "Something bothering you, Parv?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Parvarti bit her lip. "Hermione, why didn't you take the position of Head Girl?"

Hermione was shocked that Parvarti brought that up. "How did you know I was offered?"

"You're Hermione. Top student of Hogwarts, responsible, every teacher adores you... Of course you'd be offered the position. Why did you refuse?"

"Oh, well... I wanted to spend more time with friends and my studies. It's our last year, so I want to make the most of it."

"But wouldn't it be great if you took the Head Girl position and be with Draco more? More responsibilities, yes; but you'd be with Draco the whole time." Parvarti smiled.

"If only Dean were Head Boy. But since he doesn't really have the best marks in class..."

Hermione smiled at Parvarti.

"You want me to take the position so you can spend more time with Dean, don't you?"

Parvarti looked at Hermione with a smile and a blush. Hermione giggled and took her friend's hand and stood up. "C'mon, let's go to McGonagall and see what we can do."

---

Hermione went by the Black Lake to meet up with Draco. She saw him leaning on an oak tree, reading his own copy of Hogwarts: A History. Hermione went up to him and said, "Copy cat."

Draco looked up from his book and smiled, "Hello there, lovely." He put his book aside and opened his arms. Hermione sat down between his legs and his arms welcomed her petite shape and hugged her warmly from behind. "Mmm.. I love you."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Hermione bit her lip. What if she just tells him..?

Suddenly, "Excuse us!" someone shouted. And suddenly a football landed just between Hermione's legs.

"What the.." Hermione started.

"Sorry, bella!" Sam ran to her and picked the football.

"Sam, what is a football doing here in Hogwarts?!" Hermione shouted.

"Whoa, relaje, Hermione. I found it in the closet in my dormitory. So I showed the guys how to play it."

Hermione looked skeptical but sighed. "It's okay, Sam. Just be careful incase you might knock someone out. Most students don't know what that is."

"Yeah, sure. Le veré más adelante? (_I'll see you later?_)"

Hermione went pale. She forgot that Sam sent her an owl earlier saying that he wanted to talk to her about something privately. She was trying to forget about it and so she proceeded with her studies, then she completely forgot. She inhaled then exhaled and said, "Um, I'm not sure. I have rounds to do."

"Rounds?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked up at him and smiled. "Surprise! Parvarti quit and handed me the position of head girl. McGonagall was going to inform the whole school at dinner."

Draco hugged her. "Hermione, that's wonderful! This gives us more time to be together!"

"I know. So, I'm not sure, Samuel. I'll owl you later, maybe." Hermione said.

"Um, sure." and Samuel left.

Hermione watched as he left and Draco kissed her forehead. "I'm so happy,"

"So am I." Hermione said, thanking silently that Draco didn't mention anything about Sam's invitation.

---

Dinner time, Hermione sat with Harry and Ron. Both didn't know about her new position yet so she was smiling the entire time. Which made them wonder but they let it pass. Although they were okay with her being a Zabini, they'd rather stay out of anything Hermione didn't want to talk about.

But Ginny couldn't hold it in. "Spill."

Hermione looked up, "Huh? Whatever do you mean?" acting so innocent.

"Spill or-"

"Students, I have an announcement to make," McGonagall was heard throughout the whole hall. "Due to Miss Parvarti Patil renouncing from her position as head girl based on personal reasons, the staff of Hogwarts and I have appointed a new head girl for this school year-"

"WOOHOO!" Ron jumped up.

"Uh, yes, Mister Weasley? How may we help you?" McGonagall asked him with her stern voice.

Ron looked around him. Instead of blushing he said, "By continuing your speech, ma'am."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "As I was saying, our new Head Girl is Miss Hermione Nott from Gryffindor!" and the whole school cheered, howled and clapped for the new head girl. "Please come forth, Miss Nott."

Hermione gladly stood up and walked to the front. McGonagall showed Hermione her new Head Girl badge and pinned it on her robes. "Congratulations, Miss Nott."

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione smiled. The whole room was clapping and her friends were jumping up and down. She was happy to see that her boyfriend Draco was standing up, smiling and clapping for her.

"Will our Head Boy, Mister Draco Malfoy come forth too, please?" McGonagall said.

And the hall still clapped as the Head Boy made his way to the front of the hall. When he was beside Hermione, McGonagall stood between them and announced, "May I present to you this year's Head Boy, Mister Draco Malfoy and our Head Girl, Miss Hermione Nott!" The hall cheered. And the Head Boy and Girl bowed.

After that, the students calmed down and the two Heads made their way back to their respected seats. Hermione was congratulated by a bunch of her friends, even the ones from other houses went to her and greeted her. Parvarti went to her and they hugged.

"I'm so happy for you, Hermione. You deserve this more than I do." Parvarti smiled.

"Thank you so much, Parvarti. I'm so thrilled!" and they let go.

Hermione said thank you to more of her friends and after that she went back to her meal. When she finished, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hello, Miss Nott. May I show you to your quarters?" Draco Malfoy smiled.

"Yes, you may." Hermione took his hand and bid her friends good night. She and her boyfriend walked to the Heads Dormitories.

---

"It's not as if I haven't been here before, Draco," said Hermione when they entered the common room.

"Ah, yes. But have you been to the Head Girl's quarters? You'll be very surprised."

"You've been to Parvarti's quarters?"

"No, but just wait and see what Hogwarts has for you in that room," Draco smirked.

Then they went to the right side of the dormitory and opened the door that said _H.N. _which used to be _P.P._ And when they opened it, Draco smiled at Hermione, she had the same face as Parvarti's and his on their first night back in Hogwarts.

"Merlin, this is so unbelievable." Hermione said. Turns out, what Hogwarts did for her was present her with an exact replica of her room back at their Manor. It was like Hogwarts pulled her room out of her house and put it into the castle. "This is, wow." Hermione walked around, still not believing all of this. On her dresser, she found two envelopes addressed to her. She took both and sat on her bed and looked at Draco who was still smiling at her from the doorway. "Stop smiling and sit down beside me!"

When Draco sat beside her, she opened the envelope with the Hogwarts crest on. It was from McGonagall.

_To Miss Hermione Nott, _

_Congratulations in your new appointment. You do not know how proud I am to have you as this year's Head Girl along side with the Head Boy, Mister Malfoy. Just like everyone in the faculty, your fellow students and of course the late Albus Dumbledore, I believe that you will be doing great things this year. We have always had our eye on you, Miss Nott. We trust that you will do all your duties accordingly and will live up to your position as Head Girl. _

_I hope you are contented with your quarters. Secretly, every year, Hogwarts creates an exact replica of the Head Student's true quarters in their home to give them the comfort they deserve. The duties of a Head Student is not always easy and after all the hard work a Head Student, they deserve the comfort of a place they trust. And this is why we present Head Students every year a replica of their real quarters. If you wish to modify your rooms, the elves are always ready with their own magic. _

_Attached is a calendar of the schools events, a schedule of the meetings of the Head Students together with the Prefects and your rounds schedules. At the end of this letter, please recite, _Specialis porta_, wand in hand. This will make the password to the Headmistress' office. This will only appear for no more than a minute and will only be exposed to faculty, Mister Malfoy and you. The purpose of this is for when there are emergencies. _

_Again, congratulations and goodluck._

_Headmistress Minerva McGonagall_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"Why in Merlin's beard are you crying?!" Draco exclaimed.

Hermione laughed in between sobs. "Everyone trusts me. This gives me mixed emotions, Draco. I'm happy, scared and pressured!"

Draco laughed. "Baby, don't be pressured because I'll be with you in every step of the way. You know that." He put his arm around her shoulders and Hermione put her head on his shoulder. Draco kissed the top of her head. "Open the next envelope."

_Dearest Hermione, _

_Congratulations, sweetheart! This is mum. Draco and the headmistress sent me an owl right away about your new appointment. I am so proud of you, Hermione. You will be an outstanding Head Girl. You will be remembered and every Head Girl who will come after you will try to be you! I love you, dearest. The demands of being Head Girl are tough. Please know that your mother will always be here, ready to comfort you anytime you want. _

_Have a great year. Write back soon. _

_Love, mum_

---

While drinking a cup of tea by the fire with Draco, Hermione read her rounds schedule. "Hm, it appears that every night, both of us will do rounds from 10 to 12 and on Saturday and Sunday mornings, we'll be doing rounds from 5 to 7. Why's that?"

"Friday night and Saturday night happenings, luv. You know, waking up in the morning in Gryffindor, drunk. When you're supposed to be in Slytherin, well, sleeping with other girls who aren't in Gryffindor." Draco grinned.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Nice example."

"I try my best."

Draco kissed her on the lips; he kissed her tenderly and lovingly. Draco Malfoy is in love. Luckily, she's in love with him, too. They kissed for a minute and pulled away to breathe. He put his forehead on hers and cupped her left cheek with his right hand. He kissed her forehead, her nose and then her lips. "You are so special to me, you will never understand. I love you so much, Hermione Nott."

Hermione smiled at her boyfriend. "I love you, too. Draco, there's something I want to tell you."

"Later, okay? We'll talk when we get back from our rounds. It's 10 o'clock already, you take the east part of the castle and I'll take the west." Then Draco stood up and offered her his hand.

Hermione sighed and took his hand. They walked out of their common room. "Take care and remember, keep your eyes open and your wand lit. Come back fifteen minutes past twelve. Some students already recognize the schedule, so they're confident we end our rounds at twelve."

The Head Girl nodded. "We'll speak later, I promise." Draco said and kissed her forehead and left. She on the other hand, went to the east side of the castle, half distracted by her thoughts. She doesn't know how to tell Draco about her night with Sam but she really wanted to tell him. She knows how much Draco loves her and she loves him, too. She wants to be as honest as she can be.

Suddenly, she heard a movement in the shadows. Hermione pointed her wand to where she heard the sound. "Who goes there?" No answer. "Show yourself now, or you'll suffer worse consequences!" Then he came out of the shadows. Sam.

"Sam, what are you doing?!" Hermione shook her head. "50 points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew."

"Ooh, taking points out from your own house, Hermione?"

"Rules, Samuel. Rules. What are you doing out?"

Samuel chuckled, "I really want to talk to you,"

Hermione gulped. "I already told you, I have rounds to do. You're not even supposed to be out here right now. The more you stay out here, the more I'll have to take points from my own house!"

"I'm not leaving 'til you promise me you're going to talk to me tomorrow - 5:30 in the morning, if you want so no one will see us. At the black lake." Hermione thought about this. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Sam. No, she was _sure_ she didn't want to talk to him. "C'mon, Hermione. Like you said, the more I stay out here, the more points you take points away from Gryffindor."

"Fine. 5:00 in the morning, to make sure. Go. Now!" Hermione whispered loudly.

Samuel laughed and ran to the Gryffindor Tower. "See you in the morning, bella!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. What did she get herself into?

---

When Draco got back in the Heads Dorms after catching three students out, he found his Head Girl sitting on the couch, already in a tank top and her shorts.

"Hello, sexy. Are we talking… Or doing something else?" He said smugly and sat beside her.

She smiled half-heartedly. "We're both exhausted. Let's just talk tomorrow. I just wanted to wait up for you."

"Okay, thank you. Let's go to my room or yours?"

"Mine, please?"

Draco nodded and they went to her room. She laid on her bed that felt so familiar and comfy and Draco went to his room to change his clothes. Ten minutes later, he came back into the room, hugged her from behind and found her already asleep. After humming for a few moments, Draco Malfoy fell into a peaceful sleep.

---

The next morning, Hermione woke up at 4:30. She gently took Draco's arm away from her waist and went to her closet to get clothes. She went in the bathroom, washed her face and brushed her teeth and came out wearing jogging pants, a sports bra underneath her dark blue training shirt. On a piece of paper she wrote,

_Just went out for a jog. Be back before breakfast. _

_Love, Hermione xx_

Then she left it on her night table, and put Draco's wand above it. She stepped out of her room and into the Heads Common Room and into the cold hallway of Hogwarts. She half-lied; she jogged. She ran. She felt the chilly wind of the morning on her face, and she didn't care. She just wanted to run. It made her think less more of her problem and more of where to go, the right speed and not bump into early birds.

A few minutes later, she found Samuel by the Black Lake with a cigarette. She went to him, took the cigarette, threw it on the ground and stepped on it. "You're lucky I won't report you."

"Oh, lucky me." Samuel smiled. "Good morning, bella."

"Stop calling me that! I'm here. You asked me to be here. So tell me what you want to tell me." Hermione said and sat on the ground and so did Samuel.

"Okay then. I want you to break up with Draco." Sam said bluntly.

Hermione looked at him with an angry look, "What?!"

"I want to be with you, Hermione. You're smart, sexy, and _very, very _talented."

"Fuck you, Samuel."

Samuel chuckled. "Didn't you already?"

…"_What?" said someone silently who was behind the trees._

_-----_

YES! Finally a new chapter. Again, I am so sorry for the late update. I suck at meeting deadlines.

**UGHHHH I love you guys so much!** Thank you for all the alerts, reviews, favorites; you people are so awesome, I'm so happy to have readers like you! Please continue to support my story and if I have lost my touch that I apparently made up in the past five chapters, please inform me! I don't want to lose any of you.

Due to several (YES, SEVERAL. Hate to be arrogant but hey, thanks!) reviews from all of you, I can't reply individually. But I will try in the next chapter if ever you guys leave some I can reply to. [: I hope you do! I love reading your reviews. You people are the sweetest.

That makes up my note for your guys. I love you people so much. Please leave reviews, they truly make me happy. Talk to you in the next chapter!xx


	7. vii

Hermione hit Samuel on the arm. "Shut up!"

"You can't avoid the truth, Hermione. You know what happened that night," Samuel said.

_They danced, drank, danced, drank and danced even more. Hermione was intoxicated by the music, the bodies that grinded with her, danced with her. She's never felt this kind of high in such a long time and she can only wish it would stay forever. She forgot about her father's death, she forgot all the stress she felt during the war, she forgot that she was about to show Hogwarts this year who she truly was. She forgot and she didn't care. She danced and danced like there was no tomorrow. _

_Samuel danced and drank with her all through out the night. The friends Hermione came in with already left to be with their own men and have a night of their own in their houses. Hermione didn't care, though. All she wanted was to feel good and this was her only escape. Samuel was such a big help, being her partner. He responded the way she wanted him to respond. She'd sway left, he'd sway left. When she felt too light and she wanted to feel a weight on her body, Samuel held her hips tight and danced with her._

_It was already 3AM and the club was planning to close so they played soft music to lower the mood in the place. Hermione didn't like that so she went to the bar with Samuel who didn't like the slow music, too._

"_Would you like to leave, bella?" Samuel asked after he ordered more drinks for them._

_Hermione just nodded. She was too tired to talk, but she still wanted to move. _

_Samuel handed her their last shot of Tequila and a lemon wedge. "__Noroc, meu dragoste! (Cheers, my love!)" Samuel said, and Hermione took the shot of Tequila and sucked the juice out of the lemon. Her partner took her out of the club and then they were out into the chilly streets of Romania. "Where do you want to go?" _

_Hermione looked around she felt cold and she wanted to feel warm. "I feel cold, let's go to my hotel, where there's a heater. I have drinks there, too."_

_When they got to the magical hotel, the receptionist called for Hermione, "Miss Nott, an owl came for you tonight."_

"_Thank you, Anton. Please show me tomorrow instead. It's already late." Hermione said. _

"_Yes, Ma'am." Anton, the receptionist said. Hermione smiled and she and Samuel went up the stairs and waited for the elevator. Anton eyed Samuel. He has never seen him during the two nights Hermione has stayed in the hotel. Seeing the way Samuel looked at Hermione, Anton was positive that this man craved for her body. Also, Hermione never declined an owl, no matter what time it was. As he heard for the bell of the elevator, meaning it was there, Anton called for a bell boy. _

"_Emilian, watch over that couple – especially the man. Tell me tomorrow what time he leaves Miss Nott's room or if he even leaves at all." _

"_Da, domnule.(Yes, sir.)"_

_Samuel opened the small cabinet in Hermione's hotel room and took out the Fire Whiskey that was inside. He took two glasses and poured an average amount of alcohol in each one. Hermione was on the couch, arms on the arm of the couch and her head lay there. She was tired but she felt incomplete so she silently told herself that she wasn't going to sleep until she felt complete. _

_Samuel handed her a glass of the Whiskey and Hermione took a sip. She loved Fire Whiskey. She loved it because it smelt of her father, it reminded her of the times when she was a kid, after supper she'd take a bath, then head to her father's study where he'd be reading papers and a glass of Fire Whiskey would be on the desk. He never got drunk, he'd only drink two glasses and that was it. It was just one of his comfort things that he did every other night. Hermione would go to his desk, poke him and he'd smile at her. He'd pick her up and they'd walk to her room. That time she still slept in the same room as her brother. When Hermione and her father would arrive in the twins' room, Theo would've already chosen a book for their father to read to them. After the story, Andre would find his precious ones already half-asleep and would bid them good night. He'd kiss their little foreheads and say, _

"_Let your dreams take you to where you want to be. Just promise you won't forget me."_

_At this, Hermione suddenly cried and she didn't realize Samuel was telling her something about Romania. So Sam suddenly hugged her and asked her what was wrong. Hermione shook her head and faced him, she took a hold of his head and kissed him. Samuel was more than willing to reply and he did. He kissed her with all of his might. He took his tongue out and begged Hermione's lips for entrance and she let him in. It was a war of tongues._

_Sam left her mouth and went south, he placed feather-light kisses on all places of her neck and sucked on the flesh, which made the woman moan loud. She felt good, but not great. This wasn't right but she couldn't remember why it was so wrong to do this. Meanwhile, the man pleasuring her took the hem of her top and took it off of her. She was in a black bra and as he took care of the hook at the back, he kissed the valley between her breasts. When the bra came off, he took the right breast with his left hand and began to kneed it and even pinched her nipples once in awhile which brought Hermione to loud moans, especially since Samuel's tongue was busy on her left nipple. _

"_Oh, yes! Don't stop, yes…!" _

_A few more kneeds and licks on her breasts, he moved his mouth on her right nipple and his right hand on her left breast. And he did the same as before, kneedng, sucking, Hermione felt so good; the high that she got from the club and from the drinks plus this, she felt like she was on cloud nine. _

_Samuel left her breasts which made Hermione whimper a bit. He was about to unzip her denim skirt but she stopped him. She noticed how fully dressed he still was and she just couldn't have that. She kissed him on his lips and as their tongues were starting a new war, she unbuttoned his shirt and took it off him. She kissed his chest and sucked on his nipples just like he did on hers. He moaned, Hermione was so talented. She kissed his abs and got her glass of Fire Whiskey. She got an ice cube from the drink and placed it on his abs. Samuel moaned at the cool contact and closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt her moving the ice cube and she followed it's trail with her tongue. Hermione tasted salt from his sweat and the hard taste from the Whiskey. When the small ice cube finally melted and she already licked every puddle of water on Sam's abs, she unzipped his pants and was greeted with his member._

_It was hard and long, she took it and stroked the head for a little while. They were on the floor and Sam was leaning on the couch. Hermione stroked him on his shaft and he got her left breast and started to caress it again. He pinched her nipple hard when he felt Hermione lightly kiss on the tip of his member. Merlin, this girl was good. Hermione suddenly stood up. She was in a skirt, and she was about to take it off. _

"_No, bella. I changed my mind, leave it on and just take your panties off instead." _

_And take them off she did. She lowered herself on her member and Samuel couldn't believe at how tight and wet she was. Samuel sat up as she humped on his member and he felt so good. He took her breasts again doing the same action as earlier. Then Hermione pushed him, telling him silently to lean on the couch again as she humped him. What she did next, Samuel couldn't believe. She put her hand on her clit and began to rub it, __**as she humped him**__. Fuck, Samuel's never seen anything so sexy as this before. He was so close and he felt that Hermione was to. _

_Three more hard thrusts and Samuel came, and Hermione did to. Both of them felt the strong explosions from each other and it felt so good. Hermione lifted herself up and pulled Sam to lie with her on the bed. She lied down and fell into a deep, silent sleep. _

Hermione remembered that when she woke up the next day, she had a big, bad hangover and she shouted and screamed when she saw Samuel beside her on her bed, naked while all she had on was her skirt.

"I'm trying to forget the memory, Sam. I was drunk, confused, I didn't know what was happening. You were such an asshole to take advantage of it," Hermione said.

"Take advantage—huh! You, are telling me, Samuel Benito took advantage of you? Who kissed who first, bella?"

"I said stop calling me that! And secondly, if you were a proper gentleman, you should have stopped me! You weren't as drunk as I was!"

Samuel huffed. "Well, whatever. What's happened has happened. We can't change the past." He looked at her. She was staring at the castle, she was so beautiful. "I really want to be with you,"

It was Hermione's turn to huff. "You only want me for sex. Leave me alone!" And the lady stood up.

"Hermione, wait! Just let me kiss you once. Just once and we'll see how you feel, then we'll base everything on that."

"No, I do not want to kiss you."

"Hermione, please! Let's just see what happens." Sam said and grabbed her waist. Hermione was pushing him off then suddenly,

SPLASH!

Hermione fell into the lake.

"HERMIONE?" Samuel shouted. But not enough for the castle to hear. He only saw bubbles then suddenly he saw her.

"You, Samuel Benito, will stay away from me. You… I hate you! Stay away, I mean it!" She said and she got out of the water. She was soaking wet, from head to toe. Samuel saw how sexy she looked and offered to help her. "No! You do not touch me, you do not talk to me, and you do not _look_ at me. Get away!"

Samuel moved away and she walked to the castle. How was she going to explain this to Draco?

"Finally you're – what the fuck?" Draco said loudly. His girlfriend came into the Heads' Common Room, soaking wet from head to toe and shivering 'cause of the cold air. Draco found a blanket on the couch and covered Hermione with it. "C'mon, let's go to your bathroom to get you into a bath."

The blonde led the girl to the bathroom and turned on the bath, as he let the tub fill up; he put Hermione on the counter of the bathroom. She was still shivering. "Baby, what happened to you?"

_Shit_. "I was jogging, and I passed by the Black Lake. The ground was wet from the mist of the air and I slipped and fell into the lake."

Draco hugged her even if he was already in his school robes, he didn't care. He just wanted to keep his lady warm. He kissed her forehead and searched her body. "Good, you don't have any cuts or bruises from your fall. Good thing nothing swam to you,"

"Yeah, I know. Lucky me." Hermione said.

Half an hour later, Draco and Hermione left the common room hand in hand. Draco charmed his robes to dry them off and Hermione was looking like her pretty little self again in her robes and her hair was up in a messy bun and she had little make-up. She was feeling a bit feverish but decided to push it away even when Draco told her she should just stay in bed.

"I'm fine, I promise." she said and he dropped the subject.

They walked to the Great Hall. Only few students were there since it was still too early. Draco walked her to the Gryffindor Table where she sat with Ginny and he headed to the Slytherin Table where he sat alone at first. Hermione wanted to join him when Theo came into the Hall and he passed by Hermione to greet her a good morning and when he kissed her temple he felt heat.

"Baby girl, I think you have a temper." Theo said.

"I already told her to go rest for the day." Draco said, hearing Theo's remark. The Slytherin Table was right next to the Gryffindor's. At this Hermione rolled her eyes and Ginny was the only one who saw and the redhead giggled.

"Why, what happened?" Theo asked as he sat beside Draco.

Then Harry came into the Hall and sat right in front of Hermione. "Good morning, Harry." Hermione smiled. She didn't receive a reply but she didn't notice 'cause she told her brother the same thing she told Draco about her fall in the lake. Harry just looked at her and ate bacon and eggs.

"Well that was smart." Theo said sarcastically.

"Wow, twin brother, I feel the love!" Hermione said and went back to her breakfast, as did the two Slytherins behind her. Ginny soon left since she said something about not finishing her homework yet. Finally Hermione noticed that Harry was quiet. "Is there something wrong, Harry?"

Harry poked the yolk of his sunny side up until it burst, letting the yellow goo out. Then he looked up at Hermione. "Hermione, care to have a walk with me? I have to ask you something." Then he stood up.

The girl stood up, "Sure." She bid her boyfriend and her brother goodbye, saying that she'll see them later if they have any classes together for the day. And then she and Harry left the hall and walked. It was only 7 o'clock and they had an hour left 'til their first class. "What's up?" Hermione asked the raven haired boy who looked like he was really thinking deeply about something.

The boy sighed. "How do you really know Sam?"

She was confused. "Huh? I told you, I was with him - "

"Hermione, I was jogging this morning, too. And I know that you didn't 'slip' into the black lake,"

"Wha- what… You were… Harry, what did you hear?"

"Oh, I don't know I heard, _fuck you, Sam_ and thought he was trying to make a move on you then suddenly he says, _didn't you already?_" Harry sighed again. "Care to explain **again**_, _Hermione?"

She stopped walking and so did he. She looked at the view that was the garden and closed her eyes. Harry began to talk, "Hermione, I know you said you were a bit different – I mean, Granger and Nott are not exactly the same people, but right now, I feel like I don't know you at all. As in I feel like I know absolutely nothing about you."

Hermione felt like crying, but she stopped her tears from falling. She's been acting so weak these days and she didn't like it. "I know, Harry. I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't know who I am, either." She sighed deeply. "Samuel and I, we met in a club in Romania. I was with some friends, and I just – I just wanted to have fun, meet people, drink… Forget my father's death. At first I said, this isn't you, Hermione. I tried the smart things to do, reading, writing, I even tried hiking! But, it was too quiet and the silence makes me feel so bad. So I met some people, they took me out clubbing, and I loved the music. That's how I met Samuel. We danced and drank the entire night.

"Then I got tired of the club and we decided to go back to my hotel. I was piss drunk and then it happened. I didn't even mean for it to happen, it just did. The next morning, after I threw him out of my room, I vomited. Not only because of the hang over but also because I felt so dirty, letting another guy touch me like how I want only Draco would." Hermione bit her lip; they already sat down on one of the benches in the garden. "Harry, there were so many times that I wanted to tell this all to Draco but we either get distracted or I get so scared. I love him, and he loves me so much. He trusts me. He was always there for me, and then I do this to him…"

"You made a mistake." Harry said.

"Yes."

"And if you were accused by someone else, would you deny it?"

"You heard me this morning, Harry. When Samuel pointed it out, I didn't deny it." Hermione finally looked up at him after having her head down for so long. "I know how to own up to my mistakes."

"Then just tell him, Hermione. He loves you. I'm sure he'll be upset at first but when a guy truly loves a girl, then something good always comes out of it."

Hermione smiled. "You really think so?"

"When it's meant to be, Hermione… It's meant to be. And as much as it pains me to say it, I think you and Malfoy are meant."

"I love you, Harry. Thank you."

"Love you too, 'Mione. Whatever happens, you'll always be Hermione Granger to me. We just have to be open to each other. Okay?"

She nodded her head. "Yes!"

That afternoon, Draco went into the Heads Common Room. He didn't have classes for the day anymore so he went into his room to change his clothes to some comfortable muggle clothing. He went into the bathroom to pee for awhile and came out into his room and saw an owl tapping on the window. He got the letter it brought to him and let the bird have a snack. When it flew away, he closed the window and went to the common room. Hermione wasn't in the dorm yet since she still had Herbology.

He opened the letter and it read in perfect calligraphy,

_After a long, long summer… There's so much to learn, Malfoy._

Draco stared at the parchment. What the heck did this mean? So much to learn? Of course there was so much to learn. It was his seventh year! But he thought that whoever sent this letter didn't mean anything like what he just thought of. Then Hermione came into the dorms.

"Hey." He smiled at her. And she sat beside him on the couch, letting him kiss her on the lips for a few seconds then he put his arm around her.

The girl noticed a parchment in his hand. "What's that?"

"Oh, listen to this: _After a long, long summer… There's so much to learn, Malfoy_." He read. Hermione felt pale but luckily he didn't notice. She was sure as heck she knew where it came from. "So odd and stupid, if you ask me."

"Yeah."

This was a pretty stupid chapter, if you ask me. I just felt like writing so I did. I'm sorry for this. Are there any beta readers out there? Or could any of you teach me how to get one? I need one, I think. Tell me, okay?

See you in the next chapter, folks.


	8. viii

**Hello all! I am currently procrastinating on my college work. Gosh, I have so much to do. Not only do I owe my college work a little attention, even my photography stuff is crying for my energy to work on them. But I'm totally procrastinating which is wrong because it's what I've been doing for the past three days, at least I'm procrastinating on FanFiction, right? **

**By the way, my deepest apologies for not updating for the longest time! I've been terribly busy and lazy at the same time! I have been thinking of writing up a next chapter for the longest time, and finally, I've pushed myself to it. I'm actually going to be posting a new start to another story I typed up a few days ago. I don't know when I'll be posting it though, but you should totally watch out for that.**

**So, here goes nothing. **

Hermione sighed. It was the next day and she was planning to tell Draco everything. No, not planning, she decided. Today was going to be the day that she would tell Draco that she had sex with Samuel in Romania. She brushed her hair and looked at herself in her vanity. For the millionth time since the war, she wished that her father never died… This time though, it was different. She blamed the death of her father for her actions – for making her drunk and making her have sex with a man who's plan was to make her life a living hell. She knew it was wrong to blame her father's death, but what else could she do?

Cry. As her hair brush went down, her first tear fell down, too. She was still watching herself in the mirror. She didn't feel pretty or beautiful like the others told her. No, she still felt dirty and now she felt ugly because of her doings, because of her attitude. She closed her eyes and more tears crashed down on her vanity. She put her elbows there too and dug her face into her hands. What was happening? Since when did she deserve all this? It felt wrong and she really didn't think she deserved all of this.

She heard the knobs of the shower turn and she knew Draco was finished in the shower. She wiped her eyes, got her wand, and said a simple spell and then the redness in her eyes were gone. She was about to start on her make-up when she decided against it. She knew her talk with Draco would not end up nicely, so what was the point of make-up? She stood up, and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Come in." She heard Draco say.

Hermione breathed in then held the door knob. When she turned it, she breathed out. When she opened the door, she saw Draco with his towel wrapped around his waist and he had his wand pointing his hair, he said a quick spell and it turned dry. He grabbed a comb when Hermione stopped him.

"I like your hair like that. Don't comb it." She said quietly.

He smiled. _Fuck that smile_, Hermione thought. It was the most heart-breaking thing ever. He put both his hands on the sides of her face and then kissed her quick. "What's up? Are you going to use the loo?" He asked. "I'm done."

"No. I just want to talk to you…" She sounded so weak.

Draco had already walked in to his room but he was still listening to her. He turned around and looked at her with a worried expression. He heard the weakness in her voice and not at all did he like it.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

At those words, Hermione knew it was time. She couldn't help it, she cried again. Once the tears fell down, she felt even weaker than she did before. Her legs gave up on her and she leaned on the door and fell. Draco still with only his towel around his waist ran to her and hugged her, he kissed her head and tried to comfort her but it wasn't working. She was crashing and the man of her life was there to catch her.

Draco kept his grip around her tighter. He was getting really worried. "Hermione, my love, please –"

"Stop it! Stop it, please!" Hermione cried. She was trying to get him off her, but he was too strong.

"Stop what, Hermione?" Draco answered her loudly.

She quieted down. She tried to relax. "Please stop saying you love me, please stop saving me, Draco. It hurts." It came out so soft, she wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or to him.

He didn't know what was happening. He didn't understand what she meant by her words. "But I do love you and I would do anything to keep you away from pain. I don't understand, Hermione." He let go of her to see her face. Her eyes were closed and she had tear stains all of her beautiful face. She didn't know, but they were both hurting now. He hated seeing the love of his life like this.

What was wrong?

She hated herself. She felt so disgusted. He loved her so much and what she was about to say would change everything.

"I cheated on you."

They were both sitting on the floor. Her head was down and Draco stared at her. When he said nothing, she hugged her knees close to her body. She finally opened her eyes and didn't know what the expression on his face meant – there were so many things there, but one thing she didn't expect was the tear that fell from his eye. Just one tear and he was still staring at her. He closed his eyes when he felt the tear himself. Then he breathed and opened his eyes.

"When, where, with who, and… How?"

Her tears fell and she couldn't look at him anymore. She looked to her left to avoid him and the first thing she saw was a photo of him and her in the veranda of the Malfoy Manor. They looked so happy with his arms around her and both of them with the happiest smiles. After they smiled, he whispered something in her ear and her smile grew even bigger, if possible. It was the summer before sixth year, and she visited him with some friends. That was when he told her,

"_I'm in like with you, Hermione_."

That's what he was whispering in the photo. And she wanted to smile right now. But it hurt; it hurt because she couldn't smile. She couldn't smile because this man was known to be the Slytherin Sex God when only the closest people in his life knew that he's only slept with one girl and that was Hermione. And who was Hermione? Hermione was the Gryffindor Bookworm who people thought was the biggest prude in Hogwarts and yet she was the cheater.

"Summer, in Romania, with Samuel Benito," she felt her eyes burn with more tears and then said, "We had sex in my hotel room."

Hermione still wasn't looking at him so she felt even worse when she heard his voice crack when he spoke, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't know how to tell you. Then Samuel came and, Draco, I didn't know what to do."

Draco didn't want to cry, especially in front of her. One tear was enough to show how much all of this hurt him. "So are you telling me that if he had not shown up here in Hogwarts, then you never would have told me your acts of infidelity?"

"No, Draco! I didn't mean that. I was just afraid –" Hermione cried, looking at him. She stopped when he stood up. "Draco, please! Let me explain everything!"

He didn't look at her as he went into his room. "Let me get dressed. Meet me in the common room in seven minutes." He still wasn't looking at her when he spoke, and he definitely did not look back as he slammed the bathroom door behind him.

There sat Hermione on the bathroom floor, hugging her legs close to her chest. She cried. She cried all the tears that were still left. She wanted to cry for six minutes straight so when she went down to the commons, she would show no more tears. She didn't want to look so fragile and weak.

True enough, six minutes later, Hermione ran out of tears to cry. She stood, went to her vanity and looked at herself. She looked awful. She thought whether or not she should fix herself. She decided to do so. She muttered weakly the same spell she said earlier and her eyes looked their normal selves, only without the special twinkle it used to show. She tucked her wand in her pocket and went down to the commons.

When she got there, Draco was already had his back facing her, his hands in his pockets, and he was staring out the window. If the scene was any different, she would have gone up to him and hugged him from behind. Surprising him was one of her most favorite activities. She knew that he was aware of her presence; he just didn't want to look at her right now.

"Sit down." Draco demanded. He didn't sound harsh, but he made it evident in his voice that he wasn't happy.

Hermione sat down on the couch and just watched him. She saw him bow his head. She could have sworn she saw something fall to the floor, something like a tear.

His hand pinched the bridge of his nose and he breathed. This hurt him so bad; he didn't exactly know what to say. So many questions in his mind, so many things he had to know. "Hermione," he still didn't want to look at her. It hurt him so much now to look at her. If only he could look at her with happiness, but that was far from possible right now. "I thought I wanted to ask you so many questions and know so many answers, but I just can't… I can't speak to you right now." He said and left her alone in the common room and bolted out the portrait.

She sat there. She knew that she should cry, but she cried all that she could cry. She didn't know what else to do. She didn't feel hungry and she just didn't want to see anyone right now. She looked at the clock and saw it was only quarter to eight in the morning. It was a Saturday and they didn't have any classes.

Hermione weakly got up from the couch and went into her room. She didn't know what to do. Usually when she was this sad, she would write a letter to her father and then send it via owl. She didn't have her father physically anymore but she knew that he was just around her, protecting her. She thought of maybe talking to him, in a way that would make her look like a fool talking to the air. Then she thought, why not write a letter and _not _send it? She could write as if she was writing on her diary. She got her parchment, her quill and began writing. Writing as if she knew that by tomorrow her father would be in his office, reading her letter.

A few hours later, Pansy came into Hermione's room. She found the head girl curled up on her bed, asleep. Hermione looked frail and Pansy could tell her friend's been crying. Pansy also noticed that Hermione was shivering, with a blanket already on and it wasn't that cold. When Pansy felt the shivering girl's forehead and it felt incredibly hot. She quickly went down to the commons where Theo was waiting and shouted, "Theo! Hermione's very sick! Her temperature's too high!"

At this the twin brother ran to his sister's room. He went straight to her bed and felt her head. "Pansy, go call Madam Pomfrey! Tell her about Hermione!" at this the sick girl began to stir.

"Theo?"

"Hey, baby girl. You're going to be all right." he hugged her to help keep warm.

An hour later, Theo, Pansy and McGonagall were waiting in the Heads' Common Room. Madame Pomfrey was in Hermione's room and asked them to wait while she checked on the sick girl. Finally, after fifteen minutes which felt like somewhat like an hour to them, the mediwitch came down the stairs from the Head Girl's room.

"Madame Pomfrey, what's happened to my sister?" Theo asked worriedly, standing up.

"She is fine, Mr. Nott. I ask of you and maybe Ms. Parkinson to take care of your sister. She is okay but still very weak so I ask that you look after her just until she is well." Madame Pomfrey said and everyone thanked her just before she left to go back to the Infirmary.

Then Professor McGonagall spoke. "Well, you heard the woman. Please do look after our Head Girl for now. I will have the house elves bring food over for the three of you." She said then left.

After a couple of hours, Hermione woke up and saw her twin on a chair, fast asleep and his girlfriend writing on parchment on the coffee table. Pansy must've heard her move 'cause she looked at Hermione and smiled a small one. She got a bowl from the other side of the coffee table and brought it with her to Hermione.

"Hey, you hungry?" Pansy said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Hermione looked at the bowl that had soup and realized she felt famished so she nodded. Pansy fed her some soup and it tasted like Cream of Corn, Hermione's favorite, which made her smile a bit.

"I told you she'd be happy about the soup." Hermione heard her brother, who was making his way towards her. "Hey, baby girl."

"Hey." Was all she could say.

Pansy put the bowl down on the night table and put her hand on Hermione's forehead. "You're already sweating. That's a good thing. Let me get a towel." When Pansy opened the door, Blaise came in. Hermione looked at him expectantly and he slightly shook his head. That means he knew. Theo didn't notice at all since he was looking at Pansy who was on her way out and didn't notice the exchange between Blaise and the sick girl.

"Hey there." Blaise said.

"Hey." Hermione answered then looked at Theo who was massaging her head with his thumb. "Theo, could you help Pansy look for the towels? I just need to speak to Blaise privately."

Theo looked at her confused but felt like he shouldn't question her any further. So he got up and left and then closed the door behind him.

"Cream of Corn?" Blaise asked her with the bowl in his hand. He was sitting on the edge of her bed too, similar to Pansy's position earlier.

Hermione smiled sadly. Then he fed her. After three spoons, she finally asked him. "Where is he?"

Blaise sighed. He put the bowl back to its place and then put his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. "He's at the pitch. Been flying around a bit then he'd stop and sit in the stands."

"Does he know I'm sick?"

"Yeah, I knew he wanted to come but when he found out that Pans and Theo were already taking care of you, he said you'd be fine." Blaise looked at her. "But I knew he still wanted to come."

Hermione closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

"Herms, how?" Blaise finally asked.

"I don't… There's no excuse, Blaise." She looked at him and felt a tear roll down. Not again, please. Not again.

He nodded and wiped her tear away.

"I'll do you both a favor. Especially since I can see that this whole issue is getting to you physically now, too. I'll try my best to keep this Benito guy away from you. I already felt he was bad news when I saw you avoiding him during the feast. I won't let him near you, and I'll keep Draco away from him, too. I know he just wants to kill the bastard." Then he stood up. "I know you love Draco, Hermione. And he loves you too; more than anything in this world." He kissed her forehead. "Take care, kiddo. I love you."

"I love you too, Blaise. Thank you." Hermione answered and he closed the door. She felt dry so she tried to get off her bed to get a glass of water. She felt so weak and realized it hurt to move even a little. Suddenly her door opened and it was Theo.

"What are you doing?" He rushed towards her and tried to help her.

"Theo, I'm okay." She lied. "I just want to get a glass of water."

"Lie down, Hermione. I'll get it for you. Let me do this." He knew she'd be stubborn.

She sighed and laid back on her bed, she wasn't going to win. He handed her a glass of water and she drank it all. "Feeling better?" Theo asked, back in the chair he fell asleep in earlier.

She nodded and placed the glass beside the bowl of soup. She didn't feel so hungry anymore. "Theo, I'll go back to sleep, okay?" She looked at him, she looked so worried. She laughed a bit to lighten the mood. "Stop worrying about me. I love you so much. Thank you for taking care of me. Please tell Pansy the same."

"I love you so much, too, which is exactly why I'm worrying. I talked to Professor McGonagall. I'll be sleeping here, in your couch. Especially because it seems your boyfriend hasn't come to take over."

Hermione turned on her side so she could hide her face from Theo's. A tear fell and she just said, "Good night, Theo."

"Good night, baby girl."

**Hope you like! Love you, guys. Good night. :) By the way, it took me over two weeks to post this. But I'm still procrastinating a bit. Lol. **


	9. viiii

**Thank you for flooding my e-mail again! Sad though, that I only got one review. So ****ForwoodLover95****, this goes out to you, my dear! :) **

Where else could he go? The pitch of course. He went to the locker rooms, got his broom and went to the pitch. He rode his broom and started low, then he went higher and higher. As the wind blew past him and with that, he cried. How she could have done it, why she did it, and especially how he could understand it he didn't know. He flew around for awhile, just until he finished crying. He felt the need to rest so he flew down to the stands and was surprised to see Blaise there, just looking at him.

"Hey, mate." Blaise greeted him.

Draco didn't say anything. He nodded and sat down beside his best friend.

He and Blaise have been best friends since forever, while Theo had other friends before. By the time they were really best friends with Theo, Malfoy and Zabini already called each other brothers.

They sat there for a few minutes, staring at whatever was there. It was a comfortable silence and they didn't feel the need to rush. Then it happened; Draco let go of another tear and Blaise saw when he looked his way. He breathed in, looked forward and said, "When you're ready."

The blonde laughed a bit. It was somewhat amusing how they were so predictable to each other. "Ugh, mate. How did I get to this? How did I fall in love and give my all?"

"You two have a big fight?"

"I wish it was a fight. Anything could be better than this."

This made Blaise wonder. What was wrong? As if hearing Blaise's thoughts, Draco spoke. "She cheated."

Blaise's jaw dropped and at the same time he choked on his own saliva and then coughed. Draco laughed at the scene which made Blaise think what he said before was a joke. "Don't kid me like that, mate."

"Who said I was joking?" Draco breathed. "Merlin, I love her. But she goes on crushing me. Menace."

Blaise looked at him. He was serious, he wasn't joking. In fact, he was so crushed that he cupped his face in his hands. He wanted to cry but two people have already seen him, he didn't want to do it again. He was a Malfoy after all.

"So what happened?"

"You know that new bloke Benito?"

"Yeah." Blaise answered then it all dawned on him. "No fucking way."

"Fuck it is. They fucked in the summer, in Romania." Draco stared across the field again. "I want to kill the motherfucking twat right now. The piece of shit even had the nerve to play mind tricks with me when he got here."

Blaise shook his head, thinking of Hermione. "I don't get it, though. Why'd she do it?"

"I wanted to know the exact same thing." The blonde winced. "But I just couldn't speak, let alone ask her anything when I planned to. I have no details of the encounter except that it happened."

They stayed silent for awhile, and then a Slytherin boy, who Blaise recognized was from third year, ran up to them.

"Malfoy! McGonagall bid me to call you. The head girl is ill!" The little boy shouted from the foot of the stands.

Draco looked stunned for awhile. "Is she alone?"

"I think she's with Nott and Parkinson in your dorms."

The head boy looked less anxious on the outside but Blaise knew his mind was going overdrive in his head.

"Go." Draco told the boy and the third year ran back to the castle. Draco put his head and back into his hands.

Blaise stood. "I'll check up on her for you. Clear your head before you go back to your dorms, mate." He didn't wait for an answer, instead headed to the castle.

After a few moments, Draco got something from his pocket. Cigarettes. He didn't normally smoke cigarettes; he usually smoked cigars with his father once in a blue moon. He bought a pack from a guy in Slytherin who sold this stuff to selected customers secretly when Draco passed by him on his way to the pitch.

He lit the cigarette, put it between his lips, took a hit and half swallowed the smoke. He let the smoke play in his mouth for awhile then finally he exhaled all of it. He breathed, still with the stick between his two fingers. What happened? What had he done wrong to deserve this? Had he missed something? Was this his fault? He tried to piece everything together; he really didn't get it.

He loved her so much and the reminder of her knowing what he felt for her pained him. _I thought all women wanted were a man to love them? I love her, and she knows that. So what was missing? _He felt so bad and he remembered all the women who get cheated on every day. _So this is what it feels like. _All his thoughts were bothering him and he was getting a mild headache. So he smoked the rest of his cigarette and two more after that and pretended that the smokes were his thoughts and he pretended that they were out of his mind when he exhaled.

Draco stayed at the pitch for a few hours and when he felt hungry, he fell asleep. It was a peaceful kind of sleep because no one was there but him and the cold weather. His thought right before he fell asleep was that he didn't care if anybody saw him like this, just as long as it wasn't Hermione or Sam. He just didn't want to think about them right now, it hurt him too much that he felt if he thought about it any further, he'd hurt himself.

He did worry on Hermione's state of health, though. But he remembered that her body reacted the same way for awhile right after her father had died. Truth was, she was strong on the outside, but her emotions take so much of her that she gets sick once in awhile. He'd check on her quickly before he retired to his own room that night.

For now, he fell asleep.

Draco woke up and was slightly surprised of his surroundings. When he remembered the events that took place before, he noticed that the sky wasn't blue anymore, but getting dark. It was probably night time already and it was getting even colder by the second. He sat up, smoked half a cigarette and threw it away along with the rest of the pack.

He went straight to the castle and since he felt famished, he headed for the Great Hall. When he entered, so many people were already there with food in front of them. Girls were staring at him and boys didn't even give him a second glance. He was used to this so he didn't bother to give them any attention. He took a seat on the farthest side of the dinner table, signaling to his house that he didn't want to be bothered.

In the middle of his meal, Blaise sat down across him. Draco addressed his presence by giving him a slight nod.

"How is she?" He asked quietly. More students were coming in and the more they came in, the more they got closer to his seat.

Blaise piled mashed potatoes on his plate, roast beef and poured some gravy on top of his food. "She's pretty weak. She asked about you."

"And?"

"I told her you wanted to be alone first."

Draco nodded. "Thanks."

Blaise sighed. "I told her something; a promise to the both of you."

By this time, Draco had already finished eating and was just trying to finish his goblet of Pumpkin juice. "What is it?"

"I'll keep that Benito bastard away from the both of you. He's messing up her mind, no doubt and like you said earlier, you wanted to kill the no good son of a bitch."

Blaise was really angry. He had no girl friend and he wasn't always as bonded with his parents. All he had were Draco, Theo, Hermione and Pansy and if anyone got in their way, he'd be pissed. Plus, he was Draco's bestest mate – it was his duty to be this loathsome towards Benito.

"Thanks. Father would kill me if I got kicked out of Hogwarts because of that arse."

Blaise nodded. Draco finally finished his goblet of juice and stood up. "Thanks again, Blaise."

"Yeah, yeah."

The Head Boy approached the Head's portrait. It was a portrait of the first Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts. Draco was about to say the password to enter but thought for a bit. He slid down the wall. Was he ready to face her? Of course not. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 9:30PM. He hoped that Hermione would be asleep by now; he could just check on her, no need for talking then leave. Yes, that sounded like a good plan. He stood up, said the password and made his way to her room. He knocked softly and there was no answer. Good. That meant she was asleep. He turned the knob and wasn't surprised to see that Theo was on one of the sofa chairs, asleep. He looked at the sleeping girl on her bed; she had circles under her eyes and yet she looked peaceful.

He walked over to her, and then felt her forehead. Her temperature was going down. He sat down on the chair next to her bed. He knew that if he wanted to avoid her, he should just leave. But he felt like there was a magnet and he so badly wanted to lie beside her. But the events that morning said he had to restrain himself from doing such things. He watched her sleep for about ten minutes when he saw a tear escape from her eye and finally she spoke with her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered.

He didn't know if she was dreaming or if she knew he was there. Nonetheless, he stood up quietly and went to his bedroom, passing through the bathroom. He lay down on his bed, still in his all black attire and stared at the ceiling 'til finally, he drifted off to sleep.

Hermione woke up when she heard the bathroom door close softly. She was already half awake because of her dream just moments before. She smelt his scent right away that had a mix of cigarette smoke. She could recognize the smoke from when she went partying in the summer and she already memorized his scent since before. He was here. She suddenly remembered her dream.

_She was walking down the hall when she saw him enter the library. He looked so handsome in a crisp white button down shirt, black pants and he even had cufflinks on. He never liked them but he wore it for special occasions, which tickled Hermione's curiosity even more. She decided to follow him and felt heart break when she noticed that he was heading to their secret place in the library. What was he going to do there?_

_She felt heartbroken since they haven't spoken for the longest time already and it hurt her to think he still went there. She was even more hurt when she watched him brighten up as he got closer to the secret place. It wasn't exactly a secret; it was just that nobody went to that part of the library so often. She felt like dying when she finally saw who he was meeting. _

_Daphne Greengrass. He was smiling like a maniac because he was meeting Daphne Greengrass. _

_Draco admitted to Hermione a few years back that he liked Daphne a lot. He thought she was one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts, and that was true. She was very down to earth despite their wealth and she never cared for the war, although her parents were true advocates of Voldemort. They were killed in the war, and since she was already of age, she already had her own flat during the summer. In short, she was already an independent witch. _

_Hermione watched them hug and Draco stroked Daphne's cheek with his hand then kissed her there. Daphne smiled and they sat down. Hermione couldn't take it anymore, it hurt so much that she felt like daggers were going through her heart. She could admit it, though. She could admit that if she hadn't slept with someone else, then he would be stroking her cheek and kissing her. She cried a single tear and just before she left them alone, she whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear it, _

"_I'm sorry…" _

Hermione cried to herself. What kind of a dream was that? Dreams were supposed to be beautiful. Not so heart-breaking. When she made a sound, Theo woke up and ran over to her.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Theo asked worriedly. He felt her forehead. "You're catching a fever again." He stood up and went to her vanity where there were a few bottles that Madame Pomfrey brought over. He got one and gave it to Hermione. "Here, drink this."

The sick girl sat up and leaned on the headboard. She took the bottle and drank the potion. It tasted normal and she felt a little better after a few moments.

"What's wrong?" Theo asked. He sat down on the edge of her bed. "Has Draco come to visit you while I was asleep?"

Hermione didn't know what to say. She knew he was here, but Theo would question why he didn't stay. She wasn't ready to tell him of her faults, not just yet.

"I don't know."

Theo looked worried. He sat beside her now while she was still leaning on the headboard and put his arm around her then kissed her forehead. She wasn't so feverish anymore. He truly loved magic.

It was a comfortable silence. He didn't want to mention so much of Draco. To Theo, it seemed that Draco was acting like a prat for not coming over to see Hermione. After a few minutes, Theo felt Hermione's head on his shoulder. She had fallen asleep. He let her rest her little head on his shoulder for awhile before laying her back on the bed.

He went to the bathroom and after he was washing his hands after using the toilet, he opened the door to Draco's room. The blonde was there, still in his black attire but asleep. The prat had the nerve to fall asleep but didn't even bother to check on his girlfriend. Theo shook his head then closed the door and went back to his spot in Hermione's room then soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Draco and was surprised to see him still dressed in his black attire. He then remembered the events that happened yesterday and sighed. He got up from his bed after a few minutes and opened the door to the bathroom. At the same time, Hermione's door opened and she was there. They stared at each other and didn't say anything. But it was Hermione who broke the silence.

"Draco…"

The said boy didn't want to talk to her yet. But he figured he had to ask about her health. "How are you feeling? Better?"

"Yes."

Draco nodded. "You can have the loo. I'll head to the Prefect's bathroom." He said then closed the door.

**Please leave reviews. Thank you, loves! **


	10. x

Theo sat on a chair and stared at his twin. He was simply staring at her and now that he really looked at her, he finally noticed her red eyes, deep eye bags, messed up hair and absolutely no smile. This look of hers reminded him of what she looked like when their father had passed away. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. Even when their father had passed, Theo never let himself get used to her weak state. That's why he was happy when he found out that she wanted to go travelling, 'cause he knew it would distract her. He was sad that she was leaving at all but happy that she was moving on.

He knew why she currently looked like this. At first he didn't, but now he did and he still couldn't believe it.

-  
_He ran into Draco on his way back to the Heads' Common Room and he saw that Draco had his book bag with him and was heading to the library. He could tell that the Head Boy was going study in the library, which was weird because he never liked studying in the library even when they were in their early years in Hogwarts. Back in the Slytherin Common Room, Draco would say that he didn't want to face Granger as he studied but their gang knew otherwise - Draco was afraid of the library. He could go in there and stay for hours with friends but going in there alone was totally out of the question. So when Draco was obviously heading to the library alone to study instead os studying in the comfort of the Heads Commons, Theo knew that something was definitely up and he wanted to find out once and for all.___

_"Draco!" Theo shouted to get the blonde's attention.___

_Right away, Malfoy's head whipped up and he took note of Theo. He sighed. Theo did not look happy at all and of course he knew why. "I know what this is about."___

_"Oh, you do, do you?" Theo said, sounding very sarcastic with a smile on his face. His face suddenly changed and he had a hard look. "Because all I see is that you're trying to fucking avoid my sick sister!"___

_If this was any other guy, Draco would have already punched him. It wasn't just some guy though, Theo was his best friend and Hermione's twin. So instead he took a deep breath, and spoke, "Look, Theo, maybe you should talk to her about it. Not me."___

_"She's not talking, Malfoy!" Theo hung his head. "For heaven's sake, that's my problem! She doesn't talk!"___

_"And you think that it's my fault?" Draco finally raised his voice. "She's the one who cheated on me, Theo! Not the other way around!"___

_At this, Theo looked stunned. "What?"___

_Draco slowly shook his head. "She had sex with another guy. Not what you wanted to hear, is it?"___

_Theo leaned his upper body on the wall and was still staring into space. "My... My own twin? Little Hermione? She slept with... Do you know who?"___

_Draco was about to speak, but suddenly a boy and a girl walked in the hall perpendicular to where he and Theo were. He squint his eyes and tried to look at who he was. It was none other than Sam Benito. Draco wanted nothing more than to just rip Sam's head off then feed him to the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, but that still wouldn't add up to equal the pain Malfoy felt. He contemplated in his mind whether or not he would head to Benito. He was beyond livid and he knew that once he had a grasp of the Romanian, he would no longer have any self-control left inside of him. He decided to walk over to him, but just as he made his fifth step, his name was called.___

_"Draco!" Draco looked back to see Blaise shaking his head. Then he saw Blaise's eyes move to another subject. "You better leave now, Benito. If you know what's good for you."___

_Draco looked back at Benito who was apparently looking at him. Sam first looked confused but the cold, hard and angry look on Draco's face gave everything away. He knew. At this, Sam felt sort of proud and scared at the same time. Of course, he couldn't let anyone know he was scared. So ignoring Blaise's first warning, he gave Draco a "yeah-that's-right-I-fucked-your-girl" kind of smirk. At this, Draco saw red. He practically ran but Blaise and Theo were fast and they grabbed Draco's arms just in time.___

_"What the fuck! Let me go!" Draco shouted. He didn't stop looking at Samuel, while fighting to get his arms back. "I'll fucking kill you, you son of a bitch! You fucker!"___

_By this time a small crowd was already forming, watching the boys. Three Slytherins (The Slytherin Prince being one of them) vs. a newbie Gryffindor? Now this has got to be good.___

_"Stop it, Draco! He's not worth it!" Blaise whispered. "Benito, so help me, if you don't leave now I will not think twice about letting Draco go."___

_Instead Samuel took one step ahead. Then said, "Now, now, Malfoy. It's not my fault I could pleasure her when you so far away."___

_Wrong move.___

_Theo didn't know at first why they were even trying to hold Draco back. He could just tell that Blaise needed his help and by the look on Draco's face, he knew it was going to be nasty. So when he heard Sam's comment, he suddenly realized everything. Draco wanted to kill this guy because he was the one who Hermione slept with. When he realized all of this, Theo accidentally let go of Draco but regretted it once he heard Blaise shout Draco's name. He looked up and saw that Draco already had Sam pinned on the ground and he was already about to throw his first punch.___

_"Theo, help me!" Blaise shouted on his left side.___

_Just then, the crowd around them chanted, "Fight, fight, fight, fight!" This wasn't helping the two Slytherins who was trying to get their Prince off the Gryffindor. Draco was throwing punches around the place and Sam was trying to kick with no avail. Finally, Sam got a hold of Draco and rolled. He was finally on top and was trying to pin Draco's head, but Draco was strong.___

_"What the fuck is going on?" A voice boomed and Samuel stopped his actions right away, afraid of getting caught by a professor's voice, but because Draco recognized the voice right away, he took advantage of Samuel's vulnerability and he had Samuel back to the floor.___

_"Maybe after you help us, Potter, we can tell you!" Blaise shouted.___

_Harry and Ron looked at each other and went to the other side and stood just above Samuel's head. They took his arms and dragged him, making Blaise and Theo finally pulling Draco up to his feet.___

_"Draco, let it go. Hurting him more would just get you practically expelled. Stop it!" Theo said, still holding the blonde. On the other side of his mind, he was thinking of his sister and how she had no idea what was happening because of her.___

_"Mark my fucking words, Benito! You stay away from ME. I swear to Merlin, that next time, when you piss me off, you and I will have no one to hold each other back. I will kill you, Azkaban or no Azkaban." Draco spoke darkly. He snatched his arms away from his friends took a hold of his bag from the floor and walked through the crowd, shoving everyone with his shoulder that got in his way.___

_"Show's over, people!" Blaise said to the crowd. No one moved, not even an inch. "I SAID MOVE!" at his booming voice, everyone scattered and went their separate ways. Blaise shook his head slowly and looked up when he heard Theo say his name.___

_"What do we do now?" asked Theo.___

_Blaise looked at two-thirds of the Golden Trio and wondered where Sam was. "He's over there." Ron answered, pointing to one side of the corridor. Samuel was leaning his head on the wall, eyes closed, hands on the floor and legs sprawled across him. He looked so damn weak, the boys almost felt sorry for him.___

_"Let's take him to the Infirmary." Harry said.___

_"No." Sam said, still in the same position, still with his eyes closed.___

_"Then what do you want us to do with you?" Blaise asked.___

_"Just hand me my wand."___

_The four boys looked around and Theo found the wand just near his feet. He took a hold of it and handed it to Sam.___

_"Thanks." He tried to sit up properly and the other four boys watched him. "Maximus constantia..." he pointed his wand first to his face then blue sparkles came out of his wand, carefully, lightly and slowly, he dragged his wand across his face, arms, all around his body. Then after about a minute, he finally stood up as if nothing had happened and faced the four boys. He still had bruises and small cuts on his face but he smiled the smallest smile. "Thank you," he started. "For saving me from my death by Malfoy."___

_"It doesn't mean we like you or forgive you for being the reason why our best friends are breaking up, Benito. We only stopped Draco from killing you for his sake, not exactly yours." Blaise spoke fast. "Look, if anyone should know Draco, it's me. Even I know Draco more than he does. So you better take his warning to heart because the next time you do anything to piss him off, he will kill you like he says he will. You fucked up the best thing that ever happened in his life, you no good son of a dick."___

_Samuel laughed. It hurt his face, but he laughed. "Do you even know the story? Hermione was the one who brought me to her hotel. Hermione kissed me first. I was just there to continue what she started."___

_"Yeah, and that's why you're an ass, Benito. You took advantage of one of my best girl mates while she was drunk." Blaise said.___

_At this point, Theo was fuming. Harry was behind him and considering everything that he was talking about, he felt like Theo had heard enough.___

_"Blaise, I think you and Theo should go and check on Hermione. Ron and I will be in charge of Sam." Harry said. He didn't want to have to stop another Slytherin from killing the same Gryffindor in less than forty-five minutes.___

_Blaise didn't tear his eyes from Benito until Harry spoke. He looked at Theo and understood right away why Harry wanted them to leave. Blaise sighed loudly__ and put a hand on Theo's shoulder, "Let's go, Theo." _

_Theo didn't say anything but he got his bag that was also on the floor and left with Blaise. _

"_You're in deep shit, mate." Harry said to Theo when the Slytherins disappeared. _

"Hermione, why?"

Hermione was surprised to even hear someone near her. She had thought she was alone, or maybe she forgot? She didn't know anymore. All she ever thought of was Draco and how bad she had hurt him. She felt like the prostitute she had once seen in London before – Hermione had thought how that prostitute's life was so sad.

"Why what, Theo?" She said it nearly above a whisper. She didn't feel like talking.

"Why did you-" Theo was cut off by the portrait opening then closing with a loud bang. He looked up to see Draco taking one look at Hermione for at least five seconds then making his way to his room.

"Draco! What happened to you?" Hermione suddenly stood the blanket that was once around her falling to the floor. She felt a bit lightheaded from the sudden movement but when she saw the bruise and big scratch on his face, she couldn't help it.

Draco stopped to answer her, "It's nothing, Hermione. Rest."

"How am I supposed to rest if I know you're hurt?" Hermione said worriedly, walking to where he was. She forgot her brother was with them and now she had left him still in the chair he was sitting on, watching them.

"Just leave me alone, Hermione." Draco said with gritted teeth.

"Let me take care of you, Draco. Please." She got her wand from the table beside her and she was about to point it at his scars and recite the spell to heal them when he raised his hand, and hit her wand which fell on the floor.

"Take care of me? Take care of me like how Benito took care of you? Which was how I also begged to let me take care of you when your father died?" Draco shouted. "I begged you, Hermione! I begged you to let me in your life, into your problems! Remember that? Remember when I told you that I wanted to go with you to your backpacking but you said it would be better if you went alone?"

Theo was afraid that this would lead to violence. He knew Draco would never hurt a woman, especially Hermione, but when Draco was mad, there would be nothing to stop him. "Draco, stop it."

"No, Theo!" Draco looked at his friend. "I'm done! I'm done being shut up by you, by Blaise, by my parents and most of all, by Hermione!" He looked back at the now crying girl. "I'm done, Hermione. I wanted to be there for you but you refused. Instead, you found comfort from a fucking stranger who by the way gave me these scars after I tried to kill him." Hermione cried harder, she couldn't believe Draco got hurt from trying to get rid of Samuel. "I bet you're crying for him, aren't you? You're sad to hear that your precious Romanian fuck friend is hurt."

"No, Draco. No!" Hermione cried. "Please, Draco, believe me. I don't want him in my life!"

"Then why did you have sex with him, Hermione?" Draco shouted at her. He was so mad at her.

"Draco, please. Stop shouting!" Hermione was feeling weaker and weaker.

Finally, Draco gave up. He cried silent tears. "Hermione, don't you get it? I wanted nothing more during the summer to be there for you - to hold you, to take care of you, to remind you that everything was going to be okay. Instead, you pushed me out, Hermione. You suddenly got up one morning, told your mother and brother that you wanted to leave. You didn't even bother to owl me. If I hadn't gone to visit you that afternoon, would you have left without even saying goodbye?"

_Draco flooed in to check on Hermione. She had been feverish the day before from crying her eyes out over her father's death. Draco, being her boyfriend and best friend, wanted to see if she was feeling better and he wanted to see what he could do to cheer her up today. _

_For the past two weeks, he's done nothing but try to get her to act even a little bit like her old happy self. He couldn't imagine what it feels like to be a fatherless child, especially like Hermione, who was Andre Nott's number one fan. He knew it would take Hermione a long time to get over everything, but he had to try to make her feel better even for a little, right?_

_His thoughts were interrupted when Hermione's personal elf popped in front of him. "Good afternoon, Sir Draco. Prissy welcomes you to the manor." The little elf smiled and bowed her head._

"_Thank you, Prissy. Is Hermione in her room?" Draco smiled warmly at the elf._

"_Yes, sir. Prissy is helping her pack her clothes." _

"_Pack?" Draco asked. _

"_Yes, sir. Miss Hermione will be leaving tonight for Denmark, sir." _

_What? They never talked about Denmark. Draco shook his head. "Thank you, Prissy. I'll go to her room to talk to her privately. Go to your garden, I'll tell Hermione." _

_The elf bowed then smiled again at her master's beau. "Prissy thanks you, Sir Draco." _

_The Malfoy walked to his girlfriend's room, ignoring the music coming from Theo's side of the floor. He knocked and waited for Hermione to answer. _

"_Come in!" Well, she sounded better. That was a good thing, yes. But what was all this Denmark nonsense? He walked in to find her walking from her bed and into her closet. "Prissy, is that you? I'm sorry I've wasted your time, but I found the garment I was looking for. It was in my closet after – Draco!" Hermione was already out of her closet, with a new set of clothes to put in her bag. She put them on the bed and smiled while walking to him. She snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. _

"_Where are you going?" Draco asked her, his hands still on her hips, his mind still a bit dizzy from her short but sweet kiss. It was the first kiss in weeks that actually felt like the Hermione he fell in love with. _

"_Hmm?" Hermione smiled. She felt the same way about the kiss. "Oh! I'm going around Europe, darling." She left him standing in the middle of her room and walked back to her pile of clothes on her bed. _

"_**You're**__ going around Europe? Just you?" Draco asked, watching her go from one corner of her room to her bed, over and over again._

"_Yes, silly. Who else would I be going with?" Hermione asked, not even looking at him. She wasn't ignoring him, no. She was just too busy looking over her shoes, deciding which ones she'd have to bring with her. _

_Draco looked at her, taken aback. He cleared his throat and answered her, "Um, me? Your boyfriend?" _

_Hermione stopped looking at her shoes and looked at Draco. She couldn't deny it to herself, she forgot about him. "Draco, I think I should do this on my own."_

"_What? Hermione, I've been trying to take care of you all this time and now you're going to leave me?" _

_The girl shook her head. "I won't be leaving you, Draco. It's just for the summer." _

"_Why can't I go with you if it's a holiday, then?" Draco asked. He was so confused. When did she even decide on this and why hadn't she consulted him about it? "When did you arrange this?"_

"_I actually didn't. I just woke up this morning, got an owl from my friend Sylvia from Denmark then I decided I wanted to go around Europe for the summer, to distract myself." Hermione said, as if it was the simplest thing that was happening on the face of the Earth. _

_Draco sat on the couch by her bed, and Hermione sat beside him, holding his hand. He looked utterly shocked. "What does your mother have to say about this?" _

_Just as he finished his question, the topic of his inquiry entered the room. "Draco, darling." Draco smiled weakly to the beautiful woman. "Hermione, the portkey to Denmark is this book. Open it later, at 5:05 exactly and it will bring you to Sylvia's house." _

"_Thank you, mum. Now, please excuse Draco and me? We're kind of in the middle of something serious." Hermione smiled as Victoria placed the book on the coffee table. "I'll pass by your room before I leave." _

_The older woman smiled warmly, gave Draco a slight nod then left the room, closing the door behind her. _

"_So, she's okay with it." Draco said. _

"_Yes, she was quite happy for me, actually." Hermione replied. "Draco, thank you for all your help these past few weeks. I'm sorry for my behavior, I know that it was all too much to handle." Draco was about to protest, when she cut him off. "I have been a burden to all of my family and friends, so you have to understand that I would feel better if I do this on my own." _

"_Hermione, I can't imagine not being with you for more than a month." Draco practically whined. _

"_I'll miss you too, Draco, but I'll write to you as often as I can. You know I will." Hermione smiled. She let go of his hand and continued packing. It was already three in the afternoon; she had to finish packing her things almost immediately. _

"_Do I, Hermione?" Draco asked. "I mean, I leave here last night at eleven, after waiting for you to fall asleep – not that I'm complaining, of course – but then I still find out from your house elf that you're leaving!"_

_Hermione huffed. "I'm sorry, Draco. Please, let me do this." _

"_Don't worry, Hermione. I'm not stopping you from going to Europe; all I'm asking is that you let me come with you." Draco said. "It's also to keep me from losing my mind, thinking what you're doing and who you're with."_

"_You're being ridiculous, Draco! You're worse than my mother or Theo, for that matter!" Hermione raised her voice at him. "Theo practically jumped at the idea of me taking a holiday!" _

"_Like I said, it's perfectly fine for you to go, just as long as I get to go!" Draco finally stood and walked over to her. "Please, Hermione. I don't want you going around alone, I want to be with you. I want to heal your heart together." He cupped her face into his hands and looked deeply into her eyes, begging her. "You and me." _

_Hermione felt a tear on her face and left Draco's grasp. She shook her head, wiped her face. "Thank you, Draco. I'm sorry; I really can't take you with me." Hermione looked at him and smiled weakly. "I won't be alone, I'll be with Sylvia, and other people, I promise. I just, I just really want to meet other people, see other places that I've never been to and places that I haven't been to since so many years ago. Start a new life and some memories this summer, you know?" _

"_Why don't you want new memories with me?" Draco asked sadly. _

"_Of course, I do. But wouldn't you want me to face things on my own for once? Face memories in France that I had with my father so many years ago, strong and brave? Face memories our families made when we went to Madrid when we were children?" Hermione was begging now, too. "I want to see these places the way I never saw them before, Draco. Please, let me do this. I want to test myself, and see if I can go through life without depending on my father, on Theo, especially on you." _

"_But it's okay if you depend on me, love. I will never leave you." _

"_Draco, don't. Please, let me grow. I'll come back by the end of the summer, I promise you." Hermione hugged his waist and buried her face in his chest. Even if he was upset with her, he couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around her small frame. "I'll write to you as much as I can, every ten hours, if possible." _

"_Make it five." Draco __**half**__ joked. _

_Hermione laughed a bit then looked up at him. "Does that mean you're finally okay with this?" _

_He sighed heavily and kissed her forehead. "I mean it when I say you better right to me every single day. Twice a day, minimum." _

_Hermione laughed. "Yes, sir." _

"_Good." He let go of her and let her continue packing, helping her once in awhile. _

_They finished packing her stuff one hour later. They were resting on the couch when Theo, Pansy and Blaise came in. Theo and Pansy were doing Merlin knows what in his room all afternoon. As for Blaise, once he got an owl from Theo that Hermione would be gone all summer, he made his way to the Nott's residence, to bid his friend good bye. They were talking for five minutes when Prissy came in with small sandwiches and iced tea for everyone. _

_Another hour later, Hermione was already opening the portkey, her luggage behind her and her mother, brother, boyfriend and best friends were watching her. She gave them one last smile and she was gone. _

_As everyone left her room, Draco stared at the spot that she previously stood on and spoke to himself, "I love you, baby. Take care." _

"I would have said goodbye, Draco. You know that!" Hermione shouted. "Why are we even talking about this, Draco? I'm here now, aren't I? Isn't that what's important?"

"No, Hermione! What's important is that I tried to help you, but you didn't let me. Then you leave me during the summer, only for me to find out that I was cheated on with a man who provokes me about what he did with the love of my life during the summer!" Draco shouted. "That's what's important, Hermione! And that's what hurts the living shit out of me! That's what makes me feel like I've lost every ounce of dignity in my being and I feel like I was fed to the dogs for being so damn worthless! I feel like shit, Hermione! Shit! Am I that unimportant?"

"Draco, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for making you feel this way! You mean every single thing to me, Draco! Please believe me. I love no one but you, Draco! I'm sorry." Hermione wanted to kneel in front of him at this point. "Please, Draco."

Draco looked away. "No, I'm done." He went up to his room and closed it deafeningly.

Hermione finally fell to her knees, and Theo stood and ran to her crying form. She didn't care. She wanted to die than to live without Draco. He finally did it, he broke up with her. The question that's been swimming in her mind since she told him about Samuel – whether or not their relationship would get over this – was finally answered. She expected their relationship to be stronger and actually, she still believed in it. This was just a major fluke, they would get over this.

It just hurt so bad to hear from Draco how hurt he was and how _done_ he was with her. He was _done_ getting hurt because of her.

She was a bad person.


End file.
